Together Not Alone
by TheDamcingClown
Summary: Eve has lost everything and is alone in the zombie apocalypse, living in a drugstore and fighting to survive. What will happen when a group of survivors we all know and love stumble upon her? Will she trust them, will they trust her? Will she find the family she has been longing for? Will she survive?
1. Chapter 1

Eve trembled as she pulled her make shift blanket, which was her coat, over her shaking legs. She tried to be as quiet as possible, not to disturb the undead that roamed freely outside the worn down Fred's drugstore. Eve clung to her machete and squeezed, making her feel safer as her weapon was in sight. She had been held up in that drugstore for only a week or so, but it felt like an eternity. After the herd had engulfed her family home, she and her mother, father, brother and grandmother had held together for quite a few months after the dead came back to life, she had been on her own. When everything first started to happen, she had immediately left Atlanta, where she lived by herself, to get to her family in Mississippi. She never in a million years thought she would make it this long on her own. She had been on the road for at least six months trying to get closer to Atlanta, scavenging, seeking shelter wherever she could, and ended up here at the drugstore somewhere in Georgia. Every night it seemed those things wandered by the front door in droves, but by morning they were usually gone except a few stragglers that she killed immediately. She was getting really good with her machete and also getting good with her pistol that she only used in emergencies. She had learned quickly that those things gravitated towards noise. She smiled to herself, thinking how proud her dad would be to see how good she was getting at shooting. He always took her to the range on the holidays and kept guns as toys in the house. She thought of her family and whimpered into her hand, trying to hold back her cries from the dead's ears. Her long dark, almost black hair fell over her face as she continued to muffle her cries that were soon going to become sobs if she didn't stop. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her tattered red flannel shirt. She could feel her porcelain skin becoming enflamed by her cries and chuckled at herself. That was her curse for being so fair, she could never hide if she'd been crying. As a child and teenager, that had always angered her. She took her pack and looked through it to find anything to take her mind off of her lost family. Not to mention all her lost friends as well. It had been over a while since it happened, but she never lost the pain in her heart like it had happened yesterday. She was completely alone in the world, and she tried her hardest not to think about it because if she did she wouldn't survive. She couldn't find anything that would appease her sadness in her sad little pack, so she sank down onto the cold carpet of isle number 7 and decided she should sleep.

Eve tossed and turned in her sleep. She thrashed and jolted up in a scream. Nowadays, she had nightmares almost every night. She wiped her sweat soaked forehead and noticed that the sun was up. By the look of it, it looked to be about eight o'clock in the morning. She rose to her feet and went to the front of the store. She could see out of the large windows, that there were only a few, what she called zombies, hanging around; she could take care of them easily. She grabbed her pack and made her way out of the store. The zombies made their way over to her, gnashing their teeth and reaching for her. Two female and one male. She took the two females out first, her machete slashed right through them like butter. She whipped around then slashing the man right down the middle of his skull. She went to the grass and wiped her blade off. She then gathered herself and made her way down to the river that was only a few miles away. She went there every day since being in the store. It was quiet, peaceful, and she could wash herself and her clothes without being bothered. She was also getting tired of the food at the store, most of it being terrible stuff with preservatives, she thought she may be able to kill a few squirrels. She smiled at the thought, there was a time she would have gotten sick even at the thought of eating squirrel. Those days were over.

Glenn, Michonne and Daryl made their way through the small little abandoned town a few miles right outside of the prison. They hadn't been here yet, and hoped it would be fruitful with supplies, especially things for Judith, Rick's baby daughter. They were doing well at the prison, but it was always difficult to keep formula and diapers around. Judy was growing and going through things like wildfire. As they approached the town, Daryl readied his crossbow, Michonne her katana, and Glenn his gun. Michonne killed two stray walkers easily. She turned, "I think that's it. I don't see any ahead."

"Well, you never know, so still keep a look out." Daryl drawled as they lowered their weapons. They passed a few buildings that looked to be once office spaces. Daryl motioned for the other two to follow him around the corner and they obeyed. As they turned they saw a Fred's drugstore. Michonne smiled wide, which she didn't do very often, "Looks like Judy is in luck." Glenn smiled at her and Daryl did a half smile as he motioned them to follow him. They got to the front of the store and Daryl said, "I'll go in first, Glenn you stay out here in case anything happens, keep watch. Michonne you follow behind me and we'll clear. Keep your eyes open we don't know what's in there." Michonne nodded and readied her weapon as Daryl opened the door slowly with his cross bow ready. Glenn stood watch as he saw them disappear into the store. They were surprised to see that there were no walkers in the store, and they found that a little odd but didn't question it as they needed to get their supplies and go. Daryl went to one end of the store as Michonne canvased the other.

Glenn stood in the hot Georgia sun, watching for nothing. He hadn't seen a walker since the ones that they had killed when they first got there. It was so quiet outside, he started to daydream a little. He closed his eyes to take a break from the glare of the sun when he felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun to his temple. "Don't move." He heard a female voice say. He silently cursed to himself, how the hell did he not see someone walk up? "Turn and face me and don't do anything stupid." He heard her voice say again. He did as he was told and put his hands up. Eve stared at the man in front of her. She had seen him with two others as well, she had to be really careful: she was outnumbered.


	2. Chapter 2

Eve felt bad as she held a gun to this man, who looked to be Korean's forehead. She was never a violent person before, but the way things were now, she could not trust anyone. She had learned that more than enough times being on the road by herself, and she would be damned if she let these people take what was now becoming her home. "Look, I don't want to hurt you, I'm just…" Eve cut the man off, "Did I say talk?" Glenn shut his mouth, this woman was fierce. She looked to be in her early thirties, fairly short, with long dark hair, he thought to himself that she was very pretty. She looked clean, which meant she might have a group, which was not good. "I saw your two friends go into the store. They have weapons. You're going to have to come with me." Eve said as she pointed with her gun for Glenn to go inside. "My friends won't hurt you either, we just came here for some supplies, that's it. We'll get those and leave." Glenn said very calmly. Eve shook her head, "I don't believe you." Eve nudged him again to go inside. Glenn sighed and said, "Please, we don't want any trouble from you or your people."

"My people?" Eve said looking at him like he was an alien. "I figured you probably had a group." Glenn said slowly. It was coming together now, she was alone, with no back up. "Listen, if you're alone…"

"I am alone." Eve said strongly, "I don't want any trouble either. Just get your friends and leave. This is all I have." Glenn started to feel sorry for the woman, here she was all alone in this drugstore. He couldn't imagine what it would be like without the group, there was no way he would have survived. Meaning this woman must be pretty badass if she had. "Just go in, and don't try anything. I want to talk to your friends." Eve said as she nudged him in the back, making sure to keep her gun on him. Glenn nodded and did as he was told.

Daryl had rounded the corner, after looking at the toiletries section. This place was like a treasure trove. When he got to the next isle, he noticed some stuff laid out, looked like a make shift bed made of sweatshirts and pants from the store. There were also some wrappers and empty cans of food. He called out to Michonne and she came over. Michonne noticed and said, "Looks like someone has been staying here…" Just when she said that they heard a female voice say, "Come out to the front of the store, I have your friend. I don't want any trouble." Michonne and Daryl looked at each other and readied their weapons. As they got to the front, they saw Glenn with a woman standing next to him, with a gun to his head. "You would do smart to take the gun away from his head." Daryl said as he eyed her over his crossbow. Michonne steadied her katana as Eve said, "You would do smart to lower those weapons." Michonne and Daryl looked at each other and slowly lowered their weapons. "Like I said I don't want any trouble, just leave."

"We'll do that, once you take the gun away from Glenn's head." Michonne said through gritted teeth. Eve tried to sound as brave and confident as possible, these two looked lethal, and "How do I know you won't shoot me with that crossbow?"

"You have my word." Daryl tried to say in the calmest way possible. Eve looked at Glenn and then at Daryl and Michonne. She couldn't risk it, "Just leave, and I'll push him out of the door and close it once you're out." Daryl rolled his eyes and said, "How do we know you're not going to shoot us from behind?"

"You have my word." Eve said, mimicking Daryl's words sarcastically. Michonne couldn't help it, she kind of chuckled. Daryl looked at her and rolled his eyes again. Michonne then said, "How do we know you don't have some back up? People that are going to come out any minute and kill us all?"

"She's alone guys." Glenn said. Eve thought to herself, I'm screwed. "You're alone?" Michonne asked as she raised her katana. "Yeah I am alone, but that doesn't mean I can't put a bullet through this guy's head if you don't lower that sword." Michonne quickly put it back down. Daryl looked around, "Listen…you gotta let him go so we can leave, and we ain't leaving without him." Eve stomped her foot, "I'll let him go once you're out of here, not before." Michonne looked at Daryl and Glenn said, "Just do what she says guys, she's not going to hurt us. She could have shot me already and she hasn't." Just then a walker crashed through the glass and went directly for Glenn. Michonne and Daryl got their weapons and ran over, but Eve turned and put a bullet straight through the walker's head, clearly saving Glenn's life. Blood was all over Glenn and Michonne and Daryl ran to him. Eve backed up and steadied her gun. She briskly wiped blood away from her face and all three of the strangers stared at her. Glenn said, "You saved my life."

"Well I wasn't going to let it eat you. Now leave." Eve said shaking. Michonne got a little closer and Eve pointed her gun and said, "Don't come any closer."

"Look…I think you might be hurt…" Michonne said as she pointed to Eve's shoulder. Eve kept her eyes on them and could feel herself getting faint, she didn't feel pain but she felt blood trickling down her back, and it felt like a lot. "I'll be fine. Just leave."

"Hun, there's a piece of glass in your shoulder…" Daryl said pointing. Eve, feeling even fainter, looked quickly. They were right, when the zombie broke through the glass a large piece had lodged into her shoulder. "You need a doctor." Glenn said seriously. "Well…fuck." Eve said as she sunk to the ground unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

Eve slowly opened her eyes, and immediately squinted; it was so bright. Her throat felt dry and the first thing she felt was a searing pain in her shoulder. Her mind was fuzzy and she was confused, that's when it all came back to her. She immediately sat up and tried to get away. Two hands gently pushed her down, "You're not going anywhere honey. You are injured and have lost a lot of blood." Eve looked at where the voice was coming from and it was a woman, looked to be about her age with shoulder length brown hair. The woman smiled at her, "I'm Maggie. I think you met my husband Glenn." Eve looked at her wild eyed, "You're not going to kill me are you?" Maggie couldn't help but giggle, "Of course not! Michonne, Daryl and Glenn brought you here…remember? I heard you saved Glenn's life…"

Eve shook her head, "I don't remember coming here…and as far as saving his life…like I said before I wasn't going to let that thing eat him." Maggie nodded and smiled. Eve looked around, her vision was a little blurred but she couldn't help but notice that she was in a prison cell. She looked at Maggie, who must have been reading her mind, "It's a prison. We've been here for a while, it's actually really safe and great."

"We?" Eve said looking around. "Yeah, our group. You'll meet them all soon enough. We thought you probably needed more rest, plus you just woke up. You've been out for days." Eve reach for her shoulder, "Don't touch that, it needs to stay stationary a few more days. Took Daddy twenty stitches to stitch you up. You were lucky, the glass didn't hit any arteries." Eve grimaced at her shoulder and said, "Your father is a doctor?"

"Well he was a vet…but it's basically the same thing nowadays right?" Maggie said getting Eve some much needed water. Eve drank greedily and said, "Thank you."

"No problem. Thank you for saving my husband." Maggie said genuinely. Eve nodded and slightly smiled. Maggie was nice enough and these people had helped her tremendously, but she was still worried something really bad was going to happen. Being that she wasn't in the best fighting shape at the moment, she was very vulnerable. Just then, Glenn walked in, "Oh, she's awake." Eve tried to sit up a little but Maggie nudged her back down. "I'm Glenn, I don't think we've been formally introduced."

"Eve." Eve said trying to smile. She was still wary, but these people seemed nice and she should probably do her best to do the same. "Nice to meet you Eve." Glenn said as he smiled at her. Eve suddenly realized in her haze that her weapons weren't there, "Where's my gun and my knife?" Eve said kind of forcefully. "Just a precaution, until we know you better. Don't worry you'll get them back." Glenn said. "And when would that be?" Eve said with a little more attitude than necessary. "You'll get them back when we can trust you…plus Rick wants to talk to you."

"Well, I did save your life…I think I can be trusted." Eve said shortly. "Yeah but you also held a gun to my head." Glenn said eyeing her.

"Just a precaution." Eve said with a little sarcasm. Maggie chuckled under her breath. Eve then said, "Who's Rick?"

"He's our leader. Rick Grimes." Maggie said as she looked over Eve's wound to see if it needed changing. Eve sucked in some breath trying not to scream out, it really hurt. "You have a leader? Ok."

"Most of us have been together since this whole thing started. We've gained some since Woodbury. That is a whole other story. We also just went through an epidemic that attacked most of our people. Glenn almost died." Maggie said as she took his hand. He smiled lovingly at her. Eve's eyes widened, "An epidemic?"

"We still don't really know what caused it, but the worst seems to be over now. We lost a lot of people." Glenn said sadly. She could tell that talking about losing these people really hit him and noticed Maggie had the same reaction. It was nice to see people in this new world caring for others. She hadn't been with people in so long, except the people she would run into briefly, she didn't really remember what it felt like. She started to feel drowsy again and was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open, Glenn and Maggie must have noticed, "We'll leave you alone to rest. You are still recovering, you need as much rest as you can get." Maggie said as she and Glenn started to leave. Eve nodded as they closed the bars in front of them. Eve sat up as much as she could and Maggie started to say something but Eve cut her off, "Just a precaution, right?" Maggie smiled and Glenn shook his head. Eve didn't and couldn't argue anymore so she gave into sleep.

Eve's eyes opened sleepily and she remembered where she was. She laid still and saw that the bars were open. She breathed as quietly as she could, she could sense a presence behind her. She first thought it might be Maggie again, but by the breathing she knew it was a man. She got her good arm ready, and swung in the direction of the breathing. A hand caught her arm by the wrist and she shrieked out because of her shoulder. The man said forcefully but calm, "You're going to hurt yourself, relax. I'm not going to hurt you." Eve laid back and breathed in through the pain that she had just caused her shoulder. She still hadn't gotten a very good look at this man, and she knew it wasn't Glenn. Maybe it was the guy with the crossbow from earlier? She closed her eyes and bit her lip through the searing pain. "Did you pull some stitches?"

"I don't think so…" Eve managed to get out. Finally, when the pain had subsided enough for her to open her eyes, she looked to her side to see the man. He was handsome. Really handsome. He had dark wavy hair, blue eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. His skin was tan, probably from being outside a lot, and he wore a faded button up work shirt. She could see his gun on a holster around his hips. Eve worried about what she must look like, but then put that aside for the moment. She was kind of speechless and didn't quite know what to say, she didn't know who this guy was and she was having this schoolgirl reaction. He smiled slightly as she looked at him, "Now, that's better. You're not going to swing at me again are you?"

"Not if you don't give me a reason to." Eve choked out. He nodded and said, "I'm Rick. Maggie told me that your name is Eve." Eve nodded and thought to herself, this was the leader they were talking about. "Leader Rick?" Eve said.

"Yes." Rick said as he looked at her with those blue eyes. He looked at her more closely and noticed how beautiful she was. Even injured in bed she looked like a million bucks. Her dark hair cascaded around the white pillow and her fair skin had turned a little rosy, she also had the most beautiful green eyes. He tried to bring himself back to earth and stop staring at her, "I wanted to speak with you. You were sleeping, I didn't want to bother you so I waited."

"You waited so you could scare the hell out of me?" Eve said. Rick smiled slightly, "Sorry about that."

"It's ok. Don't do it again." Eve said as she looked away from him. She knew she was staring and it was probably extremely obvious. Rick fidgeted and then said, "I heard you saved Glenn's life?"

"I guess so…like I've said a million times I wasn't going to let that thing eat him." Eve said as she looked at the ceiling, trying her hardest not to look into those eyes again. "A lot of people would have let it eat him. I wanted to say thank you." Rick said. Eve was a little touched by his comment and looked in his direction again, "You're welcome."

"They also told me you have been alone? You have no group or other people with you?"

"No. Just me." Eve said looking away. Rick could tell that was a sore spot for her, and that made him sad for her. Why was he feeling all this stuff for this woman? He didn't even know if she was a threat or not. He needed to keep a straight head. "If that's the case, and we can trust you, there's always room here for you." Rick paused as Eve looked in his direction again. He took a breath and started again, "We need strong capable people, people who will look out for us and in turn we will look after them. If you have been alone for as long as I think, you are probably plenty capable. But, I do have to ask you a few questions if you're up to it." Eve looked at him weird and said, "Questions?"

"We ask them to every new person that joins us." Rick said seriously. He looked at her with his eyes like, can I go on and she nodded. "How many walkers have you killed?"

"Walkers?" Eve said. Rick nodded, "The undead."

"Oh…I have no idea I've lost count…a lot." Eve answered. Rick continued, "How many people have you killed?" Eve looked at him and took a deep breath, "One."

"Why?" Rick said, not wavering his serious expression. Eve took another deep breath, "I was on the road right after I lost my…I lost my family. I went into a gas station to get anything that I could use, it was in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't watching my back and a man, a large man, that must have been holed up in there for a while attacked me…." Eve stopped for a second and Rick looked at her to go on. "He tried to rape me. I had to kill him or he was going to rape and kill me." Rick couldn't help but soften his expression. He couldn't imagine how she had made it this long by herself, and only killing one asshole that tried to rape her said a lot about her. Eve looked at Rick and he nodded, "Thank you for telling me."

"Fine. Can I get my weapons back now?" Eve said seriously. "Not so fast. You'll get them back, just not yet."

"You have a gun around your hips, you could shoot me right now if you wanted to, and I would be defenseless." Eve said, staring him down. Rick knew where she was coming from but he needed to make sure that everything was on the up and up. "I understand, but we need to trust you and not only that you need to trust us. Plus, I don't think you could do much with the state that you are in now, you need to rest."

"You'd be surprised." Eve said, tauntingly. Rick shook his head, "I probably would be." Rick stood up and said, "Don't worry, no one here is going to hurt you. You have my word."

"I've been hearing that a lot lately." Eve said, kind of to herself but out loud. Rick nodded his head, "You can trust us. Hershel, the doctor that fixed you up is going to come in in a little while to change your bandages. Just try to rest and if you're up to it tomorrow, you can meet the group." He made his way to the bars and started to close them. "Is that really necessary?" Eve said. Rick closed and locked them, "Yes for now it is." Eve sank back into her bed and looked off. Rick wanted so badly to comfort her which was a strange thing for him to feel, he realized. "Try to rest. It was nice to meet you Eve." Eve looked at him again at those eyes that were so entrancing, "You too Rick."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Eve was woken up by the jail bars opening. She jolted up out of bed with a wild look on her face and saw that it was the woman from the drugstore with the sword. Michonne put her hands out and said, "Calm down, its ok."

"I could have used a warning." Eve said as she relaxed a little bit. Michonne nodded apologetically and sat in the chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling? I brought you something to eat." Eve noticed that she had a bowl and an apple. Eve looked at it questionably, but she was so hungry she didn't care if it was poisoned or not. She saw that the bowl was filled with oatmeal. She dug into that, not really taking time to taste it. Once she had a few mouthfuls down, she said, "Thanks." Michonne nodded and said, "I'm Michonne by the way. We met." Eve nodded as she took a bite of the apple; she had never cared for fruit in the old world, but now she ate any and everything. "I remember you…and your sword. I'm Eve."

"Hershel said you're healing pretty well." Michonne said stoically. Eve nodded and said, "It's because of him. Apparently that piece of glass was rather large." Michonne chuckled a little bit, which was very unlike her, "Yes it was." They sat there for a few quiet moments while Eve ate, it didn't take her very long to devour the entire meal. Michonne took the bowl and stood up, "You can trust us you know. We need more strong people and I think you would be a good addition."

"That's what I'm hearing." Eve said, "You all can trust me too. I don't like being locked in here day in and day out. It would be nice to not feel like a prisoner." Michonne nodded in agreement, "I'll talk to Rick and see what I can do." Eve nodded back, "Thank you." Eve noticed her heart rate pick up a little bit when Rick's name was mentioned. She mentally kicked herself for that, what the hell? Michonne closed the bars and locked them and turned and walked down the stairs. She didn't know why, but she really trusted Eve for some reason. She felt like they needed to give her a little bit more of a chance. Michonne usually tried to stay to herself and not get involved with the group's dynamics too much but it was getting easier and something about Eve reminded her of herself. As she walked into the common room she said, "I think we can trust Eve. She hasn't done anything to not trust her, in fact she's done the opposite." Everyone perked up after what Michonne said, which was very unlike her. Daryl responded, "She's only been here a few days. We just gonna let her run free?"

"Daryl, you saw her at the drugstore. She could have shot me many times, but she didn't. Yeah, she held a gun to my head, but I think that's a normal reaction for someone who had been alone for as long as she has and three strangers show up." Glenn said as Maggie nodded. Hershel added, "I agree with the boy, she seems like a good person. She's scared, but in this situation we all would be. We can't keep her locked up and expect her to trust us, and vice versa." Daryl huffed and Rick said, handing baby Judith over to Beth, a sweet blonde and Maggie's little sister. Since Carol had been forced out of the group for killing some of the infected group members from Woodbury, Beth had become Judith's care taker next to Rick. "Well, if that's what you all think is best, we can do it. I just hope it doesn't back fire in our faces." Rick said making his way up to Eve's cell. Daryl hollered back, "Then why risk it?"

"They're all right Daryl, we can't keep her locked up there forever." Tyreese, a large African American man said from behind him. He was just starting to feel more like himself since Karen had died, well since Carol had killed her. Carol hadn't been gone very long, but he was glad to see her go. He was one of their take ins from Woodbury, along with his sister Sasha, who was nodding in agreement, Bob was sitting next to her and agreed as well. "Well hell, just do it then." Daryl said as he sat back down. Rick nodded and went up the stairs.

Eve was trying to change her shirt and not having much luck since her injured shoulder was not cooperating. Maggie had given her a fresh white tank top and some clean jeans a few days before. She had the tank top over her head and was slowly getting it on. Finally she popped it over her head and sighed with relief as she heard, "Oh, sorry I didn't know you were changing." Eve saw it was Rick and quickly turned around, trying her hardest to get the tank top pulled down, making her shoulder hurt a lot in the process. Rick looked away, but not before he got a good view of her flat stomach and full chest in her black bra that looked pretty dirty. She could feel her cheeks reddening and turned around to face Rick through the bars, "Again, could have used some warning." Rick noticed her fair skin turning pink from embarrassment even though she was trying to be a tough ass. Rick nodded and said, "Sorry…I should have called out probably."

"Well, if you leave the bars open then I could probably go somewhere more private to change…just saying." Eve said as she looked at him. "Well, that's why I was coming up here. We talked and we're going to let you out. We're going to keep a watch on you though."

"Oh thank God." Eve said getting closer to the bars. Eve and Rick where inches from each other and Rick could smell her scent. They stared at each other a little too long when finally Eve said quietly, "So are you going to let me out?" Rick fumbled with the lock nervously, which Eve noticed, and opened the bars. She smiled and stepped out to take a look around. Her legs were a little wobbly from being in bed so long and she stumbled a bit. Rick quickly grabbed a hold of her and steadied her, "Are you ok?" Eve relished in the fact that he was touching her and this close and quickly said, "Yeah I'm fine just a little unsteady." Rick gently let go and Eve began to walk downstairs with Rick keeping a close watch from behind. He noticed himself looking at her butt as she moved down the stairs, which was completely unlike him; this woman was doing something to him that scared and excited him, but mostly scared him. They got to the bottom of the stairs and Eve turned and looked at Rick, he gave her a reassuring smile and nodded to go on. She stepped into the room, full of people, which she could only assume must have been "the group". Some people she recognized, some she did not. Hershel hobbled up to her on his one leg, which she was glad for because they were all staring at her and said, "Good morning Eve, how's that shoulder doing?" Eve smiled wide at him, she really liked Hershel. He reminded her of her own father, and he was very kind. "Good morning. Doing well thanks to you."

"Thanks to you my son in law is still breathing, so we're square." Hershel said with a sweet smile and made Eve feel relaxed. Eve smiled back and looked at everyone else. Tyreese looked at Sasha and Bob and motioned for them to follow him. They made their way up to Eve and Tyreese said, "Nice to meet you Eve. I'm Tyreese, this is my sister Sasha and that's Bob over there." Eve smiled as Bob and Sasha said hi. "It's nice to meet you guys." Maggie and Glenn smiled at her as Beth came over with Judith, "I'm Beth, and this is Judith." Rick then said from behind Eve, "Judith is my daughter, and my son Carl is around here somewhere…" Eve smiled at Beth and said, "Nice to meet you Beth, and very nice to meet you too Judith." Judith smiled at her and she was amazed, she was never really good with babies. Beth laughed and Judith stuck her little arms out to Eve, like she wanted her to hold her. Eve's eyes got big and Maggie laughed, "Well, looks like Judith likes you." Rick couldn't help but get a big grin on his face, and Maggie noticed instantly. She hadn't seen him smile like that in a really long time. Eve looked at Rick and said, "Can I?"

"Oh…yes of course but your shoulder?" Rick said looking at her shoulder. Eve was shocked, she had totally forgotten about her shoulder and laughed, "Oh yeah…kind of forgot about that for a second. Sorry Judith, once this shoulder gets better, I'll take you up on your offer." Eve smiled at the little girl and grabbed her little hand. Judith giggled as Rick watched in amazement. Judith never reacted to people she just met like this. Daryl and Michonne nodded at her and Daryl said, "We've met. I'm Daryl. Nice to meet you Miss Badass." Eve laughed and said, "You too Daryl."


	5. Chapter 5

About four or five weeks later, Eve was starting to get the hang of being in the group at the prison. Pretty much everything had been going smoothly and she was really proving herself to be trustworthy and needed. She also was trusting the rest of the group and realizing it was so much better than being alone. Being with them made her feel like part of something and that made her have a purpose instead of just trying to stay alive the way she was doing before. They had trusted her to keep watch a bunch of times, which was becoming her job. She even got to go on a few runs with Daryl and Michonne, which were always fruitful. Her shoulder was getting better and she was able to use her weapons again, but she was still a little sore. She was also starting to become close with a lot of the group, especially Michonne. Michonne had never been very outgoing, but Eve and her had hit it off and spent a lot of time together. They both saw a lot of themselves in each other, and they would have long talks about their past. Eve had the impression that Michonne didn't open up to the others like that, and she was proud that Michonne felt like she could with her. Eve was usually guarded with that stuff as well, and she felt comfortable sharing with Michonne. She was also becoming close to Rick Grimes himself. They usually hung out at night while she was on watch, and he couldn't sleep. He seemed to be more open with her when the rest of the group wasn't around, and she guessed it was because of what happened to his wife. It had been six months since she died and Eve knew it had to be hard. They kept it platonic as much as possible, but they couldn't help the moments of staring a little too long, or brushing up against each other on purpose. She felt things for Rick that she had never felt. She dated back before everything had happened, but never had anything serious; she just thought she wasn't destined for that, but with Rick her feelings were beginning to change. She knew it was wrong though and tried to keep her feelings at bay. Plus, for all she knew he probably didn't feel like she did.

At the moment, Eve was standing watch on the watch tower. Michonne was in the one across the way and every now and then when they would get bored they'd make silly gestures to each other. The sun was going down, and the night air was starting to get chilly which meant cooler weather. Eve shivered and gestured to Michonne that it was cold and Michonne nodded and made a funny gesture that Eve didn't get. She was mouthing "What?" to Michonne over and over again when she heard Rick's voice say, "Nice little game you two have." Eve almost screamed and whipped around, "Holy shit you scared me."

"Sorry." Rick said trying not to laugh. She looked so beautiful he knew he was staring at her, but didn't really care. It was getting chilly outside and her cheeks were turning pink and her long dark hair whipped around her face as she smiled shyly, "Yeah, just something to keep us awake I guess." Rick smiled and looked over to Michonne and waved. Michonne did a quick little wave and went to the other side of her watch tower, as to be out of sight. Eve knew exactly why she did this, she and Michonne had spoken about Rick and their little moments a few times. Michonne was the ONLY one she had spoken to about it, and she was going to keep it that way. Rick nodded and looked out into the yard, "You guys are becoming pretty close. That's good, Michonne seems to be coming out of her shell more." Eve looked at him as he spoke and knew she was staring, he was just so gorgeous. After she hadn't responded for a while Rick turned and looked at her and caught her staring. Eve blushed and looked down, "Yeah, she's great. I'm glad I met her. I'm glad I met all of you."

"I'm sure everyone feels like same. It's nice after all we have been through to have some light around here." Rick said looking at her. She was avoiding his eyes and he could tell that she was shaking. He immediately took his jacket off and said, "I should have offered this to you a long time ago, sorry. You're shaking." Eve felt him drape the jacket around her shoulders and she snuggled into it, smelling him in it. Eve then looked up at him, "What about you, aren't you cold?" Rick continued to stare into her eyes, not knowing where this was going but going with it nonetheless, "I'll be alright." Eve wasn't sure what came over her but she stood on her toes and crashed her lips onto his. Rick was surprised at first but quickly reciprocated, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. He put his arm around her waist bringing her in closer. Eve reached around and put her hands on his neck. They both moaned as they continued, and Eve felt Rick's tongue enter her mouth and brought him even closer in. All of the sudden, reality came crashing down and Eve, not wanting to at all, broke off and said, "Oh my God Rick I am so sorry…I don't know what I was thinking…" Rick just looked at her bewildered. She didn't know what to do and said, "Say something please." Rick shook his head, looked away for a second, like he was pondering something, then muttered, "Fuck it." He moved quickly to her and pressed lips onto hers again. Eve grabbed onto his back as he reached onto the back of her neck making the kisses deeper and needier. Rick started kissing her neck and Eve moaned as he lifted her up to get a better angle since she was a good bit shorter than him. She put her legs around his waist and he rested her against the wall of the watch tower. Eve smiled against his mouth and he did the same as they continued to kiss furiously. Just then they heard a voice, "Hey Eve! I'm coming up!" They immediately stopped and looked at each other with wild eyes as Eve jumped down. They knew who that voice was and it was Rick's son, Carl. He liked to come up when she was on watch and talk. She tried to straighten herself up, as did Rick. They looked at each other longingly and then focused on the task at hand. Carl came up and said, "Hey Eve, thought I'd keep you company. Oh hey Dad." Carl said as he saw the two of them, looking rather strange. "Hey Carl, yeah for sure, I could always use company. Me and your dad…we were just talking about…" She looked at Rick for help. Rick noticed and said, "Yeah we were talking about utilizing that space near Cell Block A better." Eve nodded to his comment, damn he was good. "Oh…ok. Feel like I'm interrupting something."

"No." Rick and Eve both said at the same time. They looked at each other again and Rick said, "I was actually just about to head down. Carl don't stay up too late." Carl nodded as he walked past. Eve and Rick looked at each other briefly and she smiled slightly and Rick caught it and did the same.

After an hour or two, Carl had left and all Eve could think about was Rick. She knew they probably shouldn't have done it, and it was too soon and yadda yadda but she couldn't keep feeling like it felt so right too. When they kissed it was like everything had led to that moment, her whole life and everything had led to this. She laughed to herself as she heard Daryl say, "Hey Badass, I'm here to relieve you." Eve jumped and said, "Oh Daryl, you scared me."

"Little jumpy there." Daryl said as he stood next to her. He looked down and saw Rick's jacket on the ground, "Is that Rick's jacket?"

"Oh yeah, he was up here a while ago…he must have accidently left it up here." Eve said as she picked it up. Daryl looked at her funny, noticing her reddened cheeks at the mention of a certain sheriff's name and said, "Alrighty. Well, get to bed its late."

"Yes Dad." Eve said as she playfully pushed him. Daryl held in his smile until she was gone. He really did like Eve, and her and Rick weren't fooling anyone if they thought they were being slick. He had seen the way they looked at each other, and he knew they spent time together. Rick hadn't talked about it so Daryl didn't push but he knew exactly what was going on. Rick deserved some happiness, and Eve did too. He was concerned though, it was difficult to get involved with someone in the world that they lived in now, you never knew if you could lose them at a moment's notice. Then again, what was the point in living in this new world if you couldn't hold onto something? He sighed and noticed Michonne walking down the watch tower, and waved to Tyreese, her relief. He settled into his position and lit up a cigarette.

Eve walked out of the watch tower and towards the prison, where she ran into Michonne who had just gotten off of her shift. Michonne said, "Hey, how was your shift? Looks like you had a few visitors." Michonne smiled at her and Eve blushed, "Yeah, Rick stopped by and then Carl hung out with me for a little while."

"I see you have his jacket." Michonne eyed her. Eve looked down at it, "Yeah I think he accidently left it. I'll give it to him tomorrow."  
"Don't be coy with me Eve…what happened?" Michonne said stopping and looking at Eve. Eve felt nervous and didn't want to tell anyone about what happened, partly because she didn't even know how Rick felt about it and she didn't want to be a gossip. She knew she could trust her friend, but she also didn't want to betray Rick. "Nothing happened. We just talked like we always do." Eve said. She knew she was a terrible liar and even though Michonne and she hadn't known each other that long, she knew she would see right through it. "Ok, you don't want to tell me. That's alright. I understand." Michonne said as she playfully pushed Eve. Michonne continued, "I just like the fact that not everything is so doom and gloom around here anymore." Eve nodded, "I agree. I had way too much doom and gloom…" They stopped at the door and Michonne said, "Me too. Goodnight, sleep well. See you tomorrow." Eve smiled and hugged Michonne tight, "Thanks for being my friend." Michonne looked a little misty eyed, for her, and said, "Always and forever." Eve smiled and wiped a little tear that fell down, "We're hilarious." Michonne laughed and they headed in.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading my first fanfic! Hope you like it! I have tons more chapters I need to upload and will be trying to get them up as quickly as possible and also write new ones as well! Please read and review I would love any feedback! Thanks! I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS...unfortunately. :(_

Eve couldn't sleep so she sat in her cell and read a book that she had found in the prison library. It was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She had always wanted to read it but never made the time. Eve loved to read and usually had a book she was really in to. Now that there was no TV or other distractions, she could use her off time to read, which she liked. She was very engrossed with the story when she could feel someone's presence. She jolted up and saw that Rick was standing outside her cell. He smiled and said, "Didn't mean to scare you." Eve smiled back as she put her book down, "Sorry apparently I have been super jumpy lately." Rick nodded and she motioned for him to come in. He tentatively walked in and took a seat in the chair next to her bed. "What's that you're reading?" Rick asked. Eve smiled and said, "Pride and Prejudice. It's pretty good." Rick picked it up and looked at it and said, "Looks like…"

"A chick book?" Eve said and they both laughed. "Yeah, it kinda is." Eve continued. She looked down and then said, grabbing his jacket, "You left this in the watch tower."

"Oh…thanks." Rick said as he placed it on his lap. They sat in silence a little longer and Rick said, "About what happened earlier…"

"Rick, look it's totally ok. I don't know what I was thinking. You don't have to explain anything to me or worry about hurting my feelings. I know you are still raw, and I don't blame you at all. I should have kept my lips to myself." Eve said trying to avoid his eyes. She didn't want to say that, but she knew the deal and she didn't want to put any weird pressure on him. She knew everything he had on him, and her adding to it was not an option. She cared too much for him to do that. Rick took a breath and said, "Wasn't exactly what I was expecting." Eve looked up at him surprised, "Huh?" Rick laughed at her reaction and said, "I don't really know how to say this…it's been so long and I'm a little rusty. I've felt like I've been alone for so long, even before Lori died. Eve, you're an amazing person. I think I was drawn to you when you first came here. I know we've only known each other a short time…but I feel for you. Feel strongly for you. What happened in the watch tower was…amazing and I don't regret it." Eve just stared at him. She was not expecting that. She knew her mouth was probably open and she probably looked like a weirdo just sitting there staring at this wonderful man in front of her. Rick got up and moved next to her and gently put his hands on the side of her face, "Now it's your turn to say something." Eve closed her eyes and took a breath and looked back into his eyes, "I don't regret it either. I never in a million years expected this…" Rick smiled sweetly at her, "Me neither." Eve smiled again and placed her lips gently onto his. Rick put his hands into her hair while she pulled him closer. Rick smiled against her lips and Eve reached onto the bottom of his shirt and lifted it over his head. She slid her hands down his chest and moaned. Rick took her cue and laid her down as he pulled her tank top over her head and began kissing her torso. Eve put her hands in his hair and pulled him back up to her mouth. Rick reached down and began undoing her pants, "Is this ok?" He asked sweetly with questioning eyes. Eve reassured him, "I want you right now." Rick smiled and continued.

The next morning, Eve fluttered her eyes open and yawned. She felt more rested than she had in years. She felt warm arms around her and smiled, he had stayed the night. In her experience, which wasn't much that was always a good sign. She kind of giggled to herself and Rick stirred. She rolled over to face him. His eyes were shut and he looked totally peaceful. She wondered what time it was and if anyone else was awake. She reached up and gently caressed his cheek. He smiled with his eyes closed and Eve leaned in to kiss him. He reciprocated with a long kiss. They broke away and he said, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Eve said with a smile. "How did you sleep?" Rick smiled again and pulled her closer, "Better than I have in a very long time." Eve nodded in agreement. Just then they heard a voice coming from downstairs, shouting, "Rick? Where are you?" Rick and Eve looked at each other and Rick kissed her quickly and sat up, putting his clothes on. Eve looked at him, "What is going on?"

"I don't know but it sounds like Daryl, and he was on watch last night." Rick said as he stood up. Eve put on her tank top and threw on some jeans, "I'm coming with you." Rick smiled and kissed her forehead as they walked downstairs to find a very concerned looking Daryl and Tyreese. "What's going on?" Rick said to them as he and Eve approached. Daryl and Tyreese looked at them, together, briefly and then Daryl said, "I think we have a problem." Just then, they heard Judith's cries and Eve looked at the three men and then at Rick, "I'll go get her. I want to know what's going on though." Eve started to walk towards Rick's cell as Daryl said, "Chill Badass, we'll wait." Eve rushed to the cell and grabbed Judy, who when she saw Eve stopped crying immediately and stuck her arms out. Eve smiled and said, "Hey little girl. You need a new diaper?" She picked her up quickly and changed her diaper while cooing at her. She was never one to be around babies a lot, but Judy seemed to like her a lot and Eve looked after her whenever it was needed. She had had a little brother in the old world, whom she adored and took care of when they were little, so she did know about changing diapers and general baby care, but she was not an expert. Once they were finished, Eve picked her up and headed back to the men. Daryl saw her approach and Rick smiled at them. "I think the governor is out there." Daryl blurted out. Eve looked at Rick's face and it looked as if he had turned green. Rick stammered, "Why?"

"We saw a few people in the middle of the night last night. Just outside of the gates. Knew they weren't walkers by the way they moved. Looked like they were planning something and they had weapons." Tyreese said seriously. Judith garbled and played with Eve's long hair as Eve said, "What makes you think it's the governor?" She had definitely heard about the governor from the group and the horrific things he had done. She also knew that he was still missing. "My gut." Daryl said as he looked at Eve. Tyreese nodded in agreement, "Me too. I think he's gathered a group. He's probably planning to attack the prison at some point. We need to be ready, we don't have near enough weapons for something like that. Who knows how many people he's got?"

"How many did you see?" Rick said very seriously. "Probably about five, but that doesn't mean that there aren't more out there." Daryl said back just as seriously. Rick looked to be in thought for a moment and then said, "We're going to have to go find more weapons."

"Where?" Eve said as she adjusted Judith on her hip. Rick gently touched her hand, which didn't go unnoticed by Daryl and Tyreese. "I used to live close to here. Before all of this happened. We can go to the police station, there's a weapons locker there, and we'll get those." Eve nodded as Daryl and Tyreese did the same. Daryl spoke up, "We got to do this soon, and we don't know when this might happen."

"We'll get a group together. I will go, I know exactly where it is." Rick said, still looking like his wheels were turning inside his head furiously. Eve spoke up, "I'm going with you." Just then Carl walked up, "Where are we going?" Judith reached for her brother and Carl took her from Eve. Eve smiled at Carl as Rick said, "You're not going anywhere and Eve I think you should stay too." Carl huffed and Eve said, "Wait a minute…what?" Daryl rolled his eyes and said, "Let me know when you've figured this out." With that he walked off with Tyreese behind him. Rick bent down to Eve, "I need you to stay here. For Judy and Carl. In case something happens."

"You can't go by yourself Rick and I'm a good shot." Eve said with concern. Rick put his hand in hers and squeezed it, "I can't risk it Eve, please." Rick pleaded. Eve didn't like it, and she was kind of mad about it, but she shook her head, "Ok." Rick squeezed her hand again as Carl walked into their conversation, "What's going on?" Rick didn't want to have the talk with him right now about him and Eve, but he had to tell him about getting the weapons, "Carl, we have to go back home…our old home. We need more weapons and I have to get some from the locker at the station." Rick said looking at his son. Carl replied, "I'm going Dad! I need to go, please!"

"Carl it's too dangerous…" Rick said exasperated. "Dad, I can do this. Please Dad. I want to see home…" Tears gathered in his eyes, and Eve put a sympathetic hand on Carl's shoulder, which he appreciated and sucked in his tears. Eve felt like this was probably a private moment so she took Judith and walked away to go get her something to eat. Rick noticed Eve leaving, and was grateful for it, having this conversation with his son was not going to be easy. "Carl, I need you to stay here with Eve and Judy…if anything happens while I'm gone I have to know that you all will be together. We're not going to get separated again."

"Eve can take care of Judy, she loves her. Plus, it's not like she's helpless, I mean Dad she shoots better than you do." Carl said. Rick didn't have time to respond when Carl said, "We're not going to get separated again. I need to do this Dad. I need to." Carl pleaded to his father and Rick grabbed him into a hug. "Ok son." Carl held onto his father and said, "Thanks Dad." Rick nodded and they started walking towards the kitchen. Carl asked, "So…what's going on with Eve…you guys together or something?" Rick flinched on the inside, he knew it was coming. "I hope so son." Carl laughed a little, "Good going Dad." Rick stopped and looked at him, "You're ok with this?"

"Yeah, I mean it's a little weird…after Mom, but I know you guys were having problems way before what happened. I'm not blind." Carl said as he looked at his father. Rick shook his head and was about to say something when Carl said, "It's ok. I really like Eve, she's cool and smart. Plus, I know she likes you and I've known you like her. Doesn't make me miss Mom any less, but I understand. You should be happy." Rick stared at his son, when did he grow up so fast? He hugged him again and said, "I love you Carl."

"I love you too Dad. Don't worry everything is going to be ok." Carl said as they continued their way to the kitchen. When they walked in, everyone was there having breakfast. Eve was feeding Judith some applesauce, while Michonne stood near talking to her. Everyone said their good mornings and Carl walked by Eve and patted her on the shoulder sweetly as he passed. Eve looked at him and smiled and then was about to turn to look at Rick when he walked up and put his arms around her from behind. Michonne got the hint and walked off as Eve's eyes widened. She was shocked he was doing this in front everyone. Judith giggled at the sight and Rick whispered into Eve's ear, "Are you mad at me?" Eve stifled her smile and said back quietly, "Yes."

"Please don't be." He said nuzzling into her neck, which made both Judith and Eve laugh. "We'll talk about this later Mr. Grimes." Eve said as she shoved another spoonful into Judy's mouth. Rick kissed her below her ear which made her shiver and said, "Yes mam." Rick let go and turned to the rest of the group, who were mostly staring at him and Eve while trying to look like they were eating. Rick cleared his throat, "So everyone, we have a little problem that Tyreese and Daryl discovered on watch last night." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Rick with worry. Hershel stood up and said, "What did you boys see out there?"

"People, probably about 5 or 6, right outside of the fence. They had weapons and they looked like they were surveying the yard…trying to find a weak spot." Tyreese said. Sasha and Bob looked at each other and Sasha said, "Do we know who it is?"

"It's the governor." Daryl said flatly. Everyone started to talk at once and Rick stuck his hands out and said, "Calm down everyone. We don't know that for sure yet. Could just be another group of people looking for some place to settle. It could be the governor too, we don't know."

"It's him Rick. I know it." Daryl said again. Rick gave him a look to shut up because people were getting panicked. "Regardless, we need more weapons and more ammunition. Carl and I are going to King County right outside of Atlanta, not that far from here. I know where there are plenty of weapons and ammunition. Shouldn't take more than a day." Rick said. Eve turned and was about to protest Carl going, but decided against it, she knew he needed to go. Daryl spoke up, "I'll go with you."

"No, I need you to stay here with everyone else in case something happens." Rick turned to Michonne, "Can you come with us?" Michonne looked at Eve then at Rick and said, "Yes of course."

"Ok, so we'll leave tomorrow morning as soon as the sun comes up." Rick said. He could tell people were still worried, "It's going to be ok, whatever it is, and we'll get through it together like we always do." He looked at Eve and she gave him a small smile. "Also, Eve and Daryl, I want you to be on watch while we're gone. You're the best shots we have." Daryl and Eve nodded. "Tyreese, Sasha, Maggie, Glenn, and Bob; I need you guys around the gate." They all nodded and Rick said, "Alright. And as for everyone else, let's keep this low for now, I don't want a panic." They all went into their own conversations. Michonne walked up to Eve, "Are you ok with me going? I thought you would be going."

"Yeah, he doesn't want me to go. I need to be here for Judith in case something happens." Eve said as she looked at the little girl. Just saying that made her want to throw up. She couldn't imagine anything happening to separate or destroy what they had. She had just found Rick, she had just found her best friend, and she would be damned if anything happened to that. She would not be alone again. Beth walked up and said, "Is it ok if I take Judith to the library? I need a distraction." Eve nodded and put her hand on Beth's shoulder, "Sure. You know it's all going to be ok right?" Beth smiled at Eve and nodded. She grabbed Judith who was cooing and making gurgling noises. Eve leaned in and gave Judy a quick kiss and Beth took her off. Maggie walked up and Eve said, "I think Beth is upset, maybe you and Hershel should talk to her." Maggie nodded, "Ever since the farm, what happened with the governor…she gets really worried. We all do. I'll talk to her." Maggie gave Eve and Michonne and smile and headed after her. Michonne said low enough for no one to hear but Eve, "I hope for all of our sakes it's not the governor."


	7. Chapter 7

They had all been busy the rest of the day trying to prepare for Rick, Carl, and Michonne's trip. Rick had spent nearly all day practice shooting with Carl, just in case. Eve had been on watch most of the day with Daryl in the other tower. Everyone else was by the gate, killing walkers and keeping an eye out. The more walkers they killed at the gate, the easier it would be for Rick and company to get out the next morning. Beth was babysitting Judith, which seemed to calm her down. The rest of the group went along like it was just another day, not knowing anything about what was happening. Standing alone in that watch tower gave Eve a lot of time to think about what was happening and could possibly happen. She was just about to drive herself crazy when she heard someone approach. To her relief it was Rick, she really hadn't seen him since that morning and missed him. Also, her mind was thinking about if she never saw him again she had to spend as much time as she could with him now. He smiled at her and took her in his arms and placed a sweet but passionate kiss on her lips, "I've been wanting to do that all day." Rick said as he pressed his forehead against hers. Eve smiled and pulled him in closer, "Me too. I missed you today."

"I missed you too." Rick said as he kissed her again. Eve laid her cheek to his chest as he laid his chin on top of her head and said, "How was shooting practice?" Rick laughed and said, "Really good. Carl has definitely got a talent."

"Well, that's good, you guys will need it." Eve said. Rick could tell there was something bothering her, "Are you ok?" He said as he looked into her eyes. She couldn't help it, and she wanted to kick herself for doing it but tears poured out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks, "I'm so scared I'm never going to see you again…" Rick kissed her lightly and wiped tears away, he gently put both of hands on each side of her face, and "You are going to see me again. Nothing could keep me away from you. Carl, Michonne, and I are going to come back and everything will be ok. Trust me." Eve nodded as more tears came down her cheeks. Rick kissed her again and said, "Please don't cry."

"It's just everyone is acting so scared and I've heard about the governor enough to know that it's not a joke and I just can't lose you Rick, I just found you, it's not fair. And Carl and Judy and Michonne…I just can't be alone again. I can't." Rick took her face again, "Look at me." Eve looked up and batted her long lashes as tears poured out of her big green eyes and Rick knew he was in love with her. "You are not going to lose me or any of us. You are not going to be alone again. Trust me Eve." Eve nodded and kissed him and said against his mouth, "I trust you." Rick wrapped his arms around her and held her close, not wanting to let go.

The next morning, everyone was out by the gate getting ready to watch out for Michonne, Rick and Carl as they left. Daryl walked up to Rick and said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone is safe here, you just get your ass back. I'll look after Badass." Rick smiled and hugged Daryl, "Thank you. Please do." Eve had her gun slung behind her back and her machete tucked into her belt. Carl walked up to Eve and she reached to her machete and handed it to him. Carl looked surprised and said, "Your machete?"

"Yeah, you might need it." Eve said as she playfully messed up his hair. Carl smiled wildly and put his signature hat on and said, "I'll take really good care of it."

"You better, I want it back in one piece." Eve bent down, which was not much considering her small frame and wrapped her arms around him. "Please be careful Carl. Listen to your dad and Michonne." Carl hugged her back and said, "I will Eve, don't worry. Watch after Judy." Eve nodded and smiled as Michonne walked up, "We'll watch out for each other." Eve turned and threw arms around her best friend, "Please be careful. Come back." Michonne nodded and squeezed her tight, "I'll take care of your boys."

"Take care of yourself too, I mean it." Eve said as she looked at Michonne and Michonne smiled and nodded. Just then Rick walked up and Carl and Michonne walked a ways away to let them have some privacy. Eve threw her arms around him and said into his ear, "You better come back. All of you better come back." Rick put his hands on her face and kissed her passionately. Carl smiled wide at Michonne as he made a face. Michonne playfully punched him in the shoulder and laughed. "I promise." Eve nodded and wiped some tears that were falling. "Trust me." Rick said as he pulled her in again. Eve nodded against his chest and pushed away, "You guys better get on the road, the walkers are gonna start coming." Rick looked into her eyes and kissed her one more time and said against her mouth, "I love you." Eve's eyes widened and she started crying a little more as she said, "I love you too." Rick was getting a little misty and knew they needed to leave. He nodded again and pulled her in one more time and kissed the top of her head. The three of them made their way to the car, got in and started it up. Sasha and Glenn pulled the gate doors open and Michonne drove out. A few walkers staggered in and Daryl shot them with his crossbow, Eve's gun had a silencer and she took out the last few, and a few that were coming for the car. They closed the gates and Daryl sauntered over to Eve and stood next to her as they watched the car disappear down the road. Eve wiped a few stray tears and Daryl said, quietly, "They're gonna come back Badass." Eve nodded and patted his arm and made her way into the prison to go check on Judy.

They had been driving for about thirty minutes and Rick knew they were getting close. It was silent in the car, because everyone was thinking the same thing. It was terrifying to leave the comfort of their home at the prison and leave the people who had become their family. Rick had confessed his love for Eve, and all he could think of was her face before he left. He closed his eyes, praying that they get what they needed and return safe home. He hadn't prayed in a very long time, but now he had a lot to pray for. He loved Eve like he hadn't loved anyone else, and he was going to do everything to get back to her and his daughter while protecting Michonne and his son. Michonne noticed Rick in deep thought and it was way too quiet in the car, "You alright Rick?"

"Yeah I'm ok. Let's just get what we need and get home." Rick said looking out the window. Carl nodded as he looked out the window. Soon they pulled slowly into the police station where the weapons were. Rick said, "Ok, Carl you stay here while Michonne and I check out the area. Watch us, I will motion for you to follow." Carl nodded and got his gun ready. Rick and Michonne got out of the car and got their weapons at the ready. So far they saw no walkers, but Rick knew they would most likely run into a few. He motioned for Michonne to watch his back as he went to the back door of the police station. Two walkers appeared and Michonne took them out with ease. Rick got the door open and motioned to Carl to follow. Michonne waited for Carl to get to her, and the two of them walked up next to Rick watching their backs. They all re convened and Rick said, "I'll go in first, you two stay close behind. Carl?" Carl looked at his father. Rick said, "Remember watch every corner." Carl nodded and Rick went in, followed by Carl and Michonne. They made their way down the long corridor that Rick knew so well. He checked each hallway and didn't see any walkers. They finally got to the room with the weapons locker and Rick went in while Carl and Michonne flanked the doorway. He went to it and flew it open. There was nothing there. "What the hell?" Rick said through gritted teeth. Michonne turned and said, "What's going on?"

"There's nothing here. Someone must have raided it." Rick said angry as he shut the locker's steel doors. Michonne and Carl looked at each other and Carl said, "What now Dad?"

"We can canvas those business on the strip. I used to give them gun permits, there may be some." Rick said as he walked up to the two of them. Michonne nodded and Rick said, "Let's go."

Eve stood watch on the watch tower for what felt like an eternity. It was getting a little cold. She looked over to Daryl at the other watch tower and he gave her a hand signal like all was well. She nodded at him and gave him a thumbs up. Maggie came up and said, "Hey, thought you could use this." Eve looked and it was some food and a blanket. Eve smiled and said, "Yes, thank you." Maggie nodded and said, "No problem."

"How's it looking down at the fences?" Eve said as she shoved food into her mouth. Maggie looked off and said, "Looks good, like any other day. How's it been up here?"

"The same." Eve said as she wrapped the blanket around her, "Let's hope it stays that way."

Rick, Carl and Michonne had made their way to the little strip of business in the small town. They were approaching the middle of town when they noticed a bunch of stuff in the streets. It looked like traps. A walker, stuck, impaled on a large spike groaned and lashed its teeth out at them. Michonne looked at this set up death trap and said, "Looks like someone already claimed this." Rick muttered, "What is this?" Just then they heard a harsh voice say, "Stop where you are! Put your weapons up in the air!" They froze and looked to where the voice was coming from, it was a hooded man with a gun on top of one of the buildings.

The voice said again, "Put the weapons down now! Leave your shoes and get out of here!" They stayed still as Rick said, "We'll be happy to leave, but we're not leaving our weapons." The voice bellowed back, "You'll do as I say or I'll shoot all three of you! I don't have no problem doing that! " Rick acted like he was going to put his gun down and then lunged for Carl while shooting his gun at the hooded man. The hooded man began to fire and Rick and Carl hid behind a truck. Michonne ducked and rolled behind a car. Rick turned and fired more shots towards the man. The man started to descend down to the street and all fired at each other. Rick ducked and tried to run to get another angle just as the hooded man made his way to the street and aimed. Carl came out from behind the truck and shot him directly in the torso. The man grunted and immediately fell. Carl looked bewildered at the man. Rick looked at Carl and then he and Michonne walked over to the hooded man. Rick checked his wound and saw that he was wearing a bullet proof vest, the man was not fatally hurt but he was passed out. They had to get him somewhere before he woke up. Rick said, "He's just passed out. He's wearing a vest."

"Now we know where all the weapons went." Michonne said sarcastically. Rick nodded and reached to take the man's hood off. When he did he was shocked; it was Morgan. The same Morgan who had saved his life over a year ago when he was alone and afraid. The same Morgan that he tried to contact for months and months but always got static. Michonne and Carl noticed something was happening and Carl said, "Dad?"

"I know him. When I woke up in the hospital…and I had nowhere to go and I was alone. He saved me, he took me in." Rick said as he looked at his old friend's face. They sat there a little while longer and Rick finally said, "Help me get him inside." Michonne backed up and said, "Are you crazy? He almost killed you."

"Just help me. I'm not leaving him out here." Rick said forcefully. Michonne and Carl helped Rick get Morgan in a standing position and started to move him inside. After avoiding booby traps set in the entrance they finally got into what looked like Morgan's apartment. As they walked in, they saw where all the weapons were. He must have taken every gun and bullet he could find, he had a huge arsenal. There was incoherent writing all over the walls and floor. They laid Morgan down onto his little cot and Rick swiftly tied his hands together. They all looked around and Michonne said, "We need to get the weapons and get out of here." Carl nodded in agreement as Rick said, "I'm staying until he wakes up." Michonne walked over to Rick, "Rick I don't think that's a good idea, we should get some weapons and ammo and go home."

"You think he's crazy?" Rick said accusingly. Michonne looked back with seriousness, "He's dangerous." Rick shook his head, "I'm staying until he wakes up. Then we can go." Michonne sighed and Carl said, "Then I'm going for a run." Rick looked at him, "Where?"

"There's that store down the street, probably has some baby stuff for Judy." Carl said. Michonne nodded and said, "I'll go with him." Rick nodded to the two of them, "Don't be gone too long." Michonne and Carl headed out. Rick walked around the weird room and looked at all the writing on the wall. He saw the word "clear" over and over again and then he saw something that made him take a step back, "Duane turned". Rick sat down on a chair and put his hand on his face. Duane was Morgan's young son, Rick had met him after the hospital. He knew he was all that Morgan had left. He put his hands through his hair and stood back up. Maybe Michonne was right, but he couldn't just leave this man without at least talking to him. He thought about what must have happened to Morgan after they left each other. Then he also thought about what happened to him as well. Then he thought of Eve. She had been in the same situation as Morgan; completely alone and lost everyone she had. Why didn't she turn out like Morgan? Maybe she would have if Glenn, Michonne and Daryl hadn't found her that day. Rick sighed and got up to look at the weapons. He got a large burlap bag and started putting guns and ammo into it. He didn't want to take it all, but he wanted to take enough. He heard some movement behind him and swiftly turned to see Morgan's fist coming down on him. Rick fell backwards and Morgan reached his hand high and Rick saw that he had a knife. Rick held him back with all his might and growled, "Morgan! It's me, it's Rick Grimes!" Morgan didn't seem fazed at all and got the upper hand, stabbing Rick in the shoulder. Blood poured down his shirt as he groaned in pain. He kicked Morgan off of him and reach for his gun, putting it to Morgan's head. Morgan put his hands around the barrel and said, "Kill me! Please kill me! Please!" Rick panted and stared at him, "You crazy son of a bitch." Morgan brought the gun closer to his head, "KILL ME!" Rick put the gun down and Morgan sank against the wall.


	8. Chapter 8

Michonne and Carl made their way to the store Carl wanted to go to and had gotten some pretty good stuff. On their way back to Morgan's Carl stopped and looked at a restaurant that sat in the middle of town. It was called "King's County General Store". Michonne looked at him and he said, "It's a restaurant we always used to go to. They keep pictures of the regulars on the walls…there's a picture of my mom in there. I have to get it for Judy." Michonne shook her head, "Carl that place is probably full of walkers."

"I have to get it Michonne. For Judy." Carl said. Michonne nodded and said, "Alright kid." Michonne busted the door open and walkers came out in abundance but between the two of them they took care of them.

Rick and Morgan had been sitting in silence for a while. Rick had bandaged his shoulder and it wasn't bleeding anymore, he had not gotten cut that deep. Morgan looked over at Rick, "I tried to call you…for months…and you never answered. Always static."

"I tried to call you too…always static. I had to do what was best for the group…we had to move farther. We had to get somewhere safe."

"Your group…you got people you love?" Morgan said and then continued, "You got your boy?" Rick shuttered, he knew where this was going, "Yeah."

"He'll die. Everyone dies. You'll die…whether it be teeth or bullets. Everyone dies." Morgan said. Rick responded, "You're wrong. We have a place, a good, safe place. We live and we prosper, together. We're a family. You can come back with us."

"No. I'm not going anywhere." Morgan said as tears gathered in his eyes. "I lost my wife and then I lost my boy. I'm alone. That's the way it will be." Rick shook his head, "No it doesn't have to be that way. I thought that once too…I lost my wife…but now…I have another chance, another chance at happiness, another chance at a life. You can have that too." Morgan smiled crookedly, "You got a woman?" Rick kept a straight face but knew Morgan could tell the answer. Morgan grinned, "What's her name?"

"Eve." Rick said as he looked to the ground. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since the last time he saw her. Morgan nodded, "Good. Keep her, love her, but she'll die. We all die. We have to clear." Rick just looked at Morgan in disbelief, "I wish you would come back with us. You don't have to be alone, Morgan."

"I can't watch anymore people I care about die." Morgan said as he looked to the ground as well. He looked up and made eye contact with Rick, "They will all die Rick. It's just a matter of time."

Eve had been up in the watch tower for over twenty four hours watching for that car that was going to bring her whole life back. She had spent a lot of time with Judy but she couldn't stop watching. She was watching for the intruders, but she was mostly waiting for Rick to come through that gate. He had said they would be back in less than twenty four hours and that time had surpassed. She had a sick feeling in her stomach that something had happened and something was wrong. There was no way she was going to sleep. She knew it was the middle of night or early morning, but she would stay out there until she saw that car. Daryl walked up and said, "You need to sleep Badass." Eve jumped at his presence and said, "Thanks but no chance." Daryl nodded and said, "I figured that's what you would say so I thought I would keep you company." Eve looked to the other watch tower, "Who's watching for you?"

"Sasha. Don't worry it's all good." Daryl said as he settled next to her. "Something is wrong Daryl…they should have been back already." Daryl never was the warm and fuzzy type, but he saw Eve as a little sister and he cared for her. He cared for her the way he cared for Carol. He put his arm around her and said, "Listen to me Badass, they'll be riding up any moment." He realized he was being way too touchy and shoved her away playfully, "Get a grip." Eve laughed through a few tears and smiled at Daryl. Daryl smiled and laughed a little, which was very odd for him. They sat there a little longer in silence, which was oddly comforting to both of them. After a while they saw headlights coming towards the gates. Eve said, "Rick!"

"Settle down Badass, that may not be them, I can't tell in the dark." Daryl said holding up his weapon. Eve didn't listen and ran down the stairs. Daryl rolled his eyes and stayed, knowing he would have to shoot any walkers around them. Eve readied her weapon as she ran and went to the gate. She looked through it and saw that indeed it was them. She felt such a huge sense of relief and signaled to Daryl to watch their backs as she opened the gates. He nodded at her signal, and she opened the gates. As the car drove in, she shot at least three walkers while Daryl took out a few himself. She quickly shut the gates and ran to the car. Rick flew the passenger door open and ran out towards Eve. Eve ran to him as fast as she could and jumped into his arms. She couldn't help it, tears flew out of her eyes like a river, "Thank God." She muttered into his neck. Rick held onto her and squeezed, "Yes, thank God." Eve slammed her lips onto his and he reciprocated happily. Carl got out of the car and Eve spotted him and jumped out of Rick's arms and engulfed Carl in a huge hug. Carl smiled and reciprocated, "We're ok Eve." Eve was crying and she couldn't help it, and didn't care, she just held onto Carl as long as she could. Michonne walked up and said, "Don't smother the poor kid." Eve went to Michonne and put her arms around her and said, "Good to see you too."

"You too." Michonne said as she grabbed onto Eve. Rick walked up and Eve went back to him and wrapped her arms around him and he winced. Eve's eyes got wild, "What's wrong with your shoulder?" Rick shook his head, "its fine just a little cut." Eve looked at him, and he said, "Its ok babe, I'm ok. We're all ok." Eve looked at him questionably, "What happened?"

"Long story." Rick said, "Can we just get inside and rest for now?" Eve kissed him and said, "Yes, but I want to Hershel to look at this." Rick smiled as he kissed her forehead, "Yes mam." Rick grabbed the burlap bag that was full of the weapons and they all started to walk inside. Rick waved up to Daryl and Sasha as Daryl yelled down, "I'll take over for you Badass." Eve smiled up at him, "Thanks." He nodded as he watched them go inside. It was in the middle of the night so Rick said, "Carl, you need to go to bed." Carl nodded and said goodnight to them as he walked to his cell. Eve and Rick said goodnight to Michonne and went into the kitchen for medical supplies. Eve unbuttoned Rick's shirt as he smiled at her, "I missed you." Eve smiled at him and looked at his shoulder, "I missed you too." He reached for her and pulled her in, pushing his lips onto hers. Eve moaned and put her arms around his neck. They continued to kiss and Rick winced in pain, this brought Eve back to the matter at hand. "Don't distract me, I have to clean this until Hershel can look at it tomorrow." Rick chuckled as she started to clean the wound and wrap it up. Rick sucked through his teeth and Eve bit her lip, "Sorry." Rick smiled and said, "I'm fine."

"Rick, what happened?" Eve said as she finished up bandaging the shoulder. Rick looked down and said, "We ran into someone. Someone I met when I first came out of my coma…when all this started…for me at least." Eve's eyes widened and she sat next to him and entwined her hand in his, "Morgan?" Rick squeezed her hand, he was surprised she remembered his name. He had told her all about how he was in a coma and what happened after that, and Eve had told him about what happened to her when the dead came back to life. "Yes. It was Morgan."

"He stabbed you? I thought he would have been glad to see you, he could have come back here. He could have brought his son…" Eve said as Rick gave her a look that told her everything, "Oh no…he lost his son?" Rick nodded and Eve squeezed his hand. Rick continued, "He's not who he was when I met him. He's changed Eve…he's been alone too long and he kills anything and everything that crosses his path…he tried to kill me, but I think the worst part of it all is that he wants to die. He begged me to kill him." Eve sighed with sadness and laid her head on his not hurt shoulder for comfort. Rick laid his head against hers and said, "I asked him to come here. I told him he could join us…he wouldn't do it." Eve squeezed his hand again, "You can't force him to come. He's going to have to figure this stuff out for himself." Rick rose up and looked into Eve's eyes, "How did you do it? How were you alone for so long, after everything that happened to you and didn't go mad like Morgan? You should see the way he's living Eve: he's got booby traps all over the town, inside his apartment he's written all over the walls…all over the floor…" Rick looked very distraught, thinking about Morgan and what had happened, he hadn't really had time to really sit and think about it. Eve listened and touched Rick's leg with her other hand reassuringly, "I don't know how I didn't lose it…I was probably very close when they found me. And I understand why he would want to die." Rick stared at her and she said, "When you have no one and nothing…on top of zombies walking around trying to kill you every second of every day…death seems like a good thing." Rick took her face in his hands, "I love you." Eve smiled and said, "I love you too." He leaned in and kissed her as she put her hands through his hair. They continued to kiss and Rick laid her down on the counter and started kissing her neck. Eve moaned, she had missed him so much and missed feeling his lips on her skin. She giggled and said, "Right here? Anyone could walk in…" Rick said between kisses as he reached down her jeans, making her close her eyes and bite her lip, "No one is coming…" Eve thought about arguing, but after about five seconds, she really didn't care.

A week had passed since they had procured the weapons and everything seemed to be quiet. They were all still on their toes but it seemed like everyone was starting to relax a little bit. Daryl, Tyreese, Eve and Michonne had been on watch all week and hadn't seen any more activity besides walkers. It was in the middle of the day and the weather was great. Eve and Daryl were at their usual post, while Rick, Michonne, Glenn and Maggie were reinforcing the fence. They had told Eve that the governor had attacked months back, killing a lot of people, wreaking havoc and apparently wrecked a lot of the prison. The others didn't talk about it much, she figured it was painful and scary to bring up for them. It must have been really bad, because at the mention of the governor everyone seemed to get the look of terror in their eyes. Rick had told her that Daryl had lost his brother, and Michonne had lost her very good friend Andrea that had been a part of the group too but got mixed up with the governor's madness. Michonne talked about her sometimes to Eve, but Eve never pushed about it. Glenn and Maggie had apparently been kidnapped and tortured by the governor; Rick had also told her that. From what Rick told her about this guy, this madman; Eve knew why everyone didn't talk about it. They were traumatized. This guy was apparently still out on the loose and they had no idea where he was. Eve shuddered at the thought of him resurfacing, but then she thought if he did, she would have the chance to kill him. Eve didn't like killing, she actually hated it, but after the things that she heard about the governor she would not hesitate to put a bullet through his head. Eve saw something far off in the distance, she brought her gun up and looked through the focus, trying to decipher what was the going on. She squinted her eyes and could make out a vehicle, and a few people. They were far away and it looked like they were on some kind of stake out. She turned to Daryl and whistled as she pointed to the location. Daryl immediately readied his gun and looked through the focus, he saw what Eve was talking about. He signaled to her to keep her gun ready and she did. Just then they heard a huge noise from the other side of the fence. Eve immediately looked to where it was coming from and part of the fence a few yards of where the group was reinforcing had collapsed and walkers were heading in. Eve flew to the other side of the watch tower and started taking them out as fast as she could. Rick grabbed his gun and began shooting as well. Maggie and Glenn were shooting and Michonne took many out with her katana. Rick noticed that they were still coming and they had to get behind the main gate right now. He yelled, "Get behind the gate, there's too many!" Eve kept shooting, trying to give them time to get out and behind the gates. A walker almost got Michonne from behind and Eve took it out. Rick noticed this and said, "Behind the gates! Now!" Eve saw them retreating and she continued to shoot walkers one after another. She ran out of ammo and grabbed her bag that held bullets, as fast as she could. She loaded the gun in a second and resumed shooting. She saw Maggie and Michonne get behind the gate as Rick and Glenn shot more walkers that were closing in on them. Eve screamed, "Rick go!" Eve unloaded an entire clip on a line of walkers about a foot from Rick and Glenn. Rick and Glenn immediately ran into the gate and closed it behind them. Eve took a quick sigh of relief and began unloading on other walkers coming into the yard. They were starting to thin out, but she knew the noise would probably attract more. Daryl yelled out, "EVE HEADS UP!" Eve turned and saw something headed right towards her watch tower, she didn't even have time to think as she jumped, like a cat right off the side of the tower, and hung onto the bars. As she dangled there the explosion had been so loud her ears were ringing and her eyes were stinging from the dust and concrete exploding. She hung on for dear life for what seemed like an eternity and tried to remain as calm as possible. Rick screamed in desperation, "EVE! EVE!" Daryl could see Eve dangling there and knew she couldn't hold on forever. He screamed to Rick, "She's hanging on the other side Rick! Get her!" Rick ran as fast he could and saw her hanging there, "Eve! Let go! I'm here!" Eve could barely hear but she heard something distorted and it was someone yelling at her. Her hands were slipping and she knew she was going to fall, which meant she would definitely get really hurt. Daryl screamed too, "Let go!" Eve opened her eyes and could see Rick below. She sighed and let go. She landed into Rick's arms and they rolled on the ground. Maggie screamed up to Daryl, "Get down from there now!" Daryl turned and saw a huge tank storming the fence as walkers swarmed. He brought his gun up and shot as many times as he could before he knew he had to get out of the tower. Rick rolled over and took Eve's face in his hands and pleaded, "Look at me, Eve! Open your eyes!" Tyreese, Sasha, Beth, Carl, and Bob rushed out and Tyreese was carrying the bag of weapons. He started handing weapons to everyone and they all started loading up. Rick was about to panic when he saw Eve's green eyes looking at him, "Thanks for catching me." Rick laughed and held her close and kissed her. He checked her, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm good." Eve said as she stood up. Daryl ran to the group, "Badass strikes again." He hugged Eve, which was surprising and said, "Thought you were a goner."

"Thanks for giving me a heads up." Eve said as she took her gun from behind her back. Michonne came over, "Thank God you're ok." Eve nodded and Rick kissed her again and whispered, "I love you." Eve smiled and Rick continued to the group, "We're being attacked. I don't know who it is. We need everyone out here with a gun."

"There's a tank Rick, I saw it right before I got out of the watch tower." Daryl said to Rick. Rick was about to respond when they all heard a loud voice. "Rick. Come out here. We need to talk." They all knew that voice. Eve did not know the voice but by the way they were looking she knew it had to be him. The governor.


	9. Chapter 9

. Eve shook her head, "You are not going out there." Rick took her hand and said, "Its ok. You guys will cover me. Daryl, Maggie, Beth, take this side. Michonne, Sasha, Eve take this side. Carl, you and Bob watch my back from the middle, Glenn you too." They all nodded and Rick said, "Any sign of anything you shoot, but not before, you hear me?" They all nodded and Eve ran up to him, she had tears in her eyes, "Rick, please don't go out there…Please…" Rick took her face in his hands, "I have to or they will blow us all away. Everything will be fine, just watch my back. Eve, I love you." Eve nodded and said, "I love you too." He kissed her and Eve couldn't help but feel like this might be the last time. Eve turned to walk away and Rick turned her around again and kissed her with all of his might. Eve reciprocated and nodded, letting him go towards the gate. They all took their posts and the governor yelled again, "Rick! Get over here. Let's have that talk." Rick walked outside of the gate and noticed the huge tank in front of him and a good sized group of people with the governor. Then he noticed something more terrifying than any of that. Hershel on the ground, on his knees, and his hands tied behind his back. Rick looked at Hershel with horror in his eyes and Hershel looked at him with most calm expression he had ever seen. Rick heard Beth scream from behind the gate, "DADDY!" Maggie screamed too and they were crying. Eve held her gun at the ready but tears were falling down her cheeks as well. How the hell did he get Hershel? Why was Hershel outside of the gates? Michonne muttered, "Oh no…"

"How did they get him Michonne?" Eve said under her breath. Michonne shook her head, "Hershel sometimes goes outside the gates by himself…we've talked to him about it but he refused to stop." Eve closed her eyes and quickly wiped the tears that were there, and focused on covering Rick. Rick put his hands out and said, "It's not up to me. There's a council now. They run this place."

"Is Hershel on the council?" The governor said smugly. Rick winced and said, "I don't make decisions by myself anymore."

"You're making the decisions today Rick." He responded, staring at him through his eye patch. Rick shook his head in frustration and need. He looked at all the others that were with the governor. They all looked like normal, decent people that had gotten mixed up with him, just like Andrea did. He pointed to young woman with dark hair in pigtails and said, "You, with the pigtails, is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?"

"What we want is what you got. Period. Time to leave asshole." A man sitting in the tank said. Rick said, "Look, I've fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone's who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know... we all can change." Hershel looked at Rick like a proud father and all of the group behind the gates felt like there may be hope. The governor reared back, and they saw that he was holding a machete, much like Eve's. He hissed through gritted teeth, "Liar." He reared back and slammed the machete directly into Hershel's neck, severing it almost completely. Rick screamed, "NO!" And brought his gun out and started to shoot. Then, chaos erupted. Eve could hear Beth and Maggie's screams as she started shooting anyone and everyone in the governor's group. The rest of the group were shooting as well. Eve tried desperately to see through all the chaos, where Rick had gone and that's when she spotted him behind one of the overturned cars. Explosions started to happen and Michonne said, "We can't stay here, we're vulnerable." Eve tried to run towards Carl as she shot and saw someone from the governor's group reach and aim right for Carl's head, "Carl!" Eve screamed as she shot the person straight through the forehead. They had basically had torn down the gates and were coming in like wildfire and also walkers weren't too far behind as well. Eve went to Carl, "Go get Judy! Go get her and bring her to me!" Carl nodded as he ran into the prison. Meanwhile, Maggie, Bob and Sasha were trying to get as many of the Woodbury people in a bus as possible. Eve looked again for Rick and this time she couldn't see him. She turned and took out a man who was aiming for her and grabbed her machete and slammed it into a woman that had run up behind her. She saw Daryl and Beth shooting people and walkers alike and getting further away. She ran towards where she thought Rick was, "RICK!" Then she saw Glenn and another woman from the governor's group get engulfed in walkers. She shot as many of them as she could and then they started to come over to her. She yelled at Glenn, "Glenn Go!" She continued to shoot walkers and realized she was getting over run by them. There was no place to go and she knew she was about to run out of bullets. She raised her machete and took as many out as possible to get through but all that was there was the woods. She looked into the crowd of walkers, probably at least fifty coming at her and she had no choice but to go straight into the woods.

Rick stumbled, bloodied and beaten. He and the governor had a brawl and he would have killed Rick if Michonne hadn't stuck her katana straight through him at just the right time. He couldn't see anyone and everything was a complete mess. He just screamed out, "EVE! CARL! EVE!" He started crying and panicking, not being able to find them. He saw walkers coming at him and took them out as much as he could. He kept screaming, "CARL! EVE!" Just then a walker was about an inch or two from biting him when it hit the floor, a bullet going into its skull. Carl stood there with his gun raised and then ran to Rick, "Dad! I can't find Judy! Someone must have taken her…the kids had her…I don't know." Rick looked at the desperate situation and saw Judy's little gray car seat sitting about six feet away. They both ran over to it and nothing was there except a stain of blood. Carl and Rick broke down and held on to each other. Carl cried and Rick looked around through his tears and saw walkers heading their way. Rick said, "Carl, we have to go…we have to go…" Carl cried and helped his dad try to walk. Rick said through his sobs, "Eve?"

"I couldn't find her…she got taken over by walkers." Carl said through sobs as well. Rick broke down again and almost fell over. Carl picked him back up, "We gotta go Dad, we're going to die too if we don't go." Rick tried to turn around but he was so wounded, "I got to look for her…I have to Carl…I got to look for Judy too…"

"They're not there Dad…" Carl said, crying. Rick sobbed as he and Carl walked into the woods and away from the chaos.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello again! Last chapter was short I know, but there is a reason for that. This one is short too. Things are about to change big time so I needed to break it up a little bit. Once again keep reading and please review! Thanks so much!_

Eve had been running forever, not stopping for anything. She knew hundreds of walkers were behind her and she was almost out of ammunition. She could hear them behind her and knew they were close. She stopped and looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide. She was never a hider but there was no way she could take all of those walkers on, no matter how "badass" she might be. She couldn't see anything to get under or behind and she could already see the herd coming her way. She looked up and decided to climb a big pine tree that stood in front of her. She threw her gun over her back and made sure her machete was secure and hurled herself up into the tree as fast as she could. She climbed as high as she could, which was a good ten feet from the floor. Her legs were jelly and her arms were mush. She was breathing so hard from exhaustion, but she knew she had to be quiet or the walkers would gather around her tree and never leave. She put her hand to her mouth to stifle the sound, just like she used to do when she was alone. It all hit her then. She was alone again. She had no one and nothing. Her eyes widened at the realization and the horror of her situation. She knew she was panicking and she tried to breathe deep and evenly. If she blew it now she would die, she knew it. Flashes of Rick, Carl and Judy went through her mind. She sobbed into her hand like a baby as she watched the herd pass by her tree. There were so many of them. She thought of her friends, her lover, and wondered if they had gotten out, if they were alive? She prayed then that they were and she vowed that she would find them. No matter what, she was going to find them.

Michonne had hidden in the woods until she knew that the walkers had subsided. She immediately went back to the prison to try to find anyone that could be alive or still be there. As she approached she saw the destroyed walls and the destruction to the watch tower, it was a battle zone. She knew the herd had followed Eve, she had heard her screaming for the others to go. Michonne stopped and cried for her friend. It wasn't fair. This just wasn't fair. She looked and saw the governor's dead corpse on the ground and spit on it. She walked through the gates and looked for any sign of the living. A walker came towards her and she cut its head off. She kept looking, but still could find any one. She then saw a trail through the woods, on the other side of where Eve was taken over and probably killed. She started to cry again and decided to follow the trail. She had spent enough time with Daryl to know how to track and she could see the footprints in the mud. They looked like a man's shoe and a child's shoe. She muttered to herself, "Rick and Carl." She immediately followed the trail as fast as she could.

Eve had spent the night in the tree just to make sure that the herd had passed completely. She had been up the entire night trying to stay as silent as possible. Once the sun came up she knew she needed water and more ammunition at best so she decided to go back to the prison. She didn't know what to expect when she got there, and she knew that she probably wouldn't find anyone, but she hoped. When she got back she scoped the entire yard and prison for survivors. She didn't find any, just the dead bodies of the people from the governor, the governor himself, walkers, and lastly…Judith's empty car seat. She sank down to the ground and held the little seat while she wept. She sat there for hours, holding that seat and crying. She had no will to get up and fight. She started to fade and she knew if she didn't get some water soon she would pass out. She finally forced herself up and staggered into Cell Block A, her old home not even 24 hours ago. She walked into the silent prison and went to her cell. She grabbed her pack and stuffed clothes into it, including a blanket and bottles of water that she kept in her cell. She downed one bottle right away and went to the kitchen. She grabbed some non-perishable food items and more water and stuffed it into her bag. She searched for ammo, and found many boxes of bullets and took those too. She knew she had to leave soon, it would get dark and she didn't need to be there alone when it did. As she walked out, she tried not to look at the other cells with her friend's belongings in them. She saw a picture face down on the floor and she picked it up. It was a picture of Rick, Carl and Lori, Rick's deceased wife. She remembered that Carl had gotten it when they went on the trip for the weapons. She wiped some tears and stuffed it into her bag.

Eve got out into the yard and tried to start up some of the cars. She had learned from her little brother, who was in and out of jail most of his life, to hotwire a car. She tried her best, but it didn't seem to be working. She hit the hood of the car in frustration and heard a noise coming from behind her. She turned swiftly and put her machete in the head of a female walker. She tried again with the car, but nothing was working, she was going to have to go along on foot. She turned and took a last look at the place that she thought was going to be her home forever. She felt tears fall again, but swiftly wiped them away and went back into the woods.


	11. Chapter 11

_I hope you all are liking this as much as I love writing it. Here is another shortish chapter, I used one conversation from the show in this chapter, I DO NOT OWN IT THOUGH. I felt like it was necessary for the time line and what is to come. This is probably one of my favorite chapters only because I love the relationship that is about to unfold. Please read and review! Again, I have a bunch more chapters to upload so stay tuned!_

Months later, Eve was in another tiny abandoned town about three or four hours outside of the prison. She needed more supplies and she had been scoping the town from a nearby tree for hours, making sure everything was clear and safe. She hadn't seen another human being since that day at the prison. The only thing keeping her going was the hope that she would be reunited with her family. Every day that hope seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. As she slowly and quietly made her way down the tree, she readied her machete for any surprises, she heard talking. She scrambled and went into a further tree from the road. She climbed up and silently as she could and realized that she was even closer to where the noises were coming from. Sitting in a small clearing, there was a black man, wearing a khaki, hooded jacket with what looked like knee guards on his legs. He had a small fire and looked to be about to eat, but the other man, a white man with a W etched on his forehead must have interrupted. The white man was dirty, with greasy brown hair and had a gun pointed at the other man. She could hear their conversation and knew it wasn't going to turn out well.

"Hi." The dirty man said. The other man responded, "Hello. You can lower that." There was silence between them for a while and Eve held her breath. The black man said in a southern accent, "What's the W for?"

"You know the first settlers here, they put bounties on wolves' heads. Brought the natives into it. Made them hunt them. Didn't take them too long to kill them all." He gestured to the W on his forehead, "They're back now." The black man smiled suspiciously but kept quiet and looked around at his surroundings. Eve knew he was looking for more people with this W guy. She looked too.

"Thoughts?" The dirty man said. "Everything gets returned." The black man said that made the dirty man smile. "You shitting me?"

"No I shit you not." The black man said with a big smile. They both laughed. "I like this. Just talking. I don't get to meet new people very often. Maybe once every two weeks." The dirty man said. "That's a lot." The black man responded.

"Well, I work at it." He paused for a second. "We do. Sometimes we find camps, run through them…we have traps too. It's different, not like meeting like this. As equals. Little chats in front of a fire, with a stranger. That's the closest thing to movies now. I miss the movies. I used to…" The black man was taking a drink out of his cup, which Eve assumed had food in it and the dirty man said, "Put that down."

"Why?"

"Because I want it. I want everything you have. Every last drop."

"Can I keep a little of it? Just to get through a day or two, you know just to keep me alive?"

"I'm taking you too…and you're not exactly going to be alive." The dirty man said. She could tell the other man's expression change drastically and so did hers. She reached behind her and steadied her gun, she was not going to let some schmuck with a W on his forehead take from this man and kill him, just like the governor had done. No way, she was going to take him out. The black man placed his coffee cup down and the dirty man started talking again, "So the tribes around here, they thought that the first people were wolves turned into men. And now, well, you know, everything gets returned. Right?" The black man nodded his head with a stern look on his face. "You can have my supplies, you can have everything, don't need to be any ugliness. But I can't allow you to take me away. I will not allow that." The black man went to reach for something and the dirty man cocked his gun and said, "Don't move." He put up his hands and took a deep breath as the dirty man continued, "Just be still. Just. Be. Still." Eve saw another man run from behind the black man. She almost shot until she saw the black man hit both men over the head with a long, thin stick. He handled it like Michonne used to handle her katana. Eve pressed her finger on the trigger as she watched the black man hold his stick and stand perfectly still, not attacking again unless provoked. He said, "You should just go, now." The man who had run in from behind said, "No." And they both attacked again. Eve couldn't stand it anymore and she focused in and shot, twice. Hitting both men straight between the eyes. The black man put his stick up and looked around into the trees. A walker was coming up behind him and as he turned to kill it, Eve shot it square in the head. The black man shouted out, "Who's out there? Show yourself." Eve took a deep breath and said, "Put the stick…or whatever that is down. Now." The black man obliged but went to reach for the wolf guy's gun and grabbed it. "Not a good idea. I have you right in my sight line." Eve said seriously. The black man nodded and said, "Just show yourself." Eve climbed down slowly from the tree and stepped into where the man could see her. She kept her gun aimed right at him, "Don't do anything stupid."

"You didn't have to kill them." The man said as he laid the gun he had on the ground. Eve thought that was very odd and said, "I saved your life."

"You ended two." He said as he looked at her in the eyes. "You can put the gun down, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'll keep it like this for a little while longer if you don't mind." Eve said through her teeth. Morgan could tell that she had probably not eaten in a while. Her dirty clothes hung on her and her fair skinned cheeks were a little sunken in. "What's your name?"

"My name isn't important." Eve said and she continued, "I won't hurt you, I won't take any of your supplies, I just need some food."

"Are you alone out here?" Morgan said as calmly as possible. Eve rolled her eyes and said, "Please, just give me a little food and I'll leave you alone."

"I need to know if there are more coming, you can understand?" Morgan said putting his hands out to her. She took a frustrating breath and didn't want to cry because that would be ridiculous and said, "I had a group…they're gone now." Morgan stared at her and she said, "Please just a little food." Morgan still just stared at her and she cocked her gun, "I don't want to shoot you…"

"Morgan. My name is Morgan. You won't shoot me, you could have done it already." Morgan said calmly, "That's a good thing." Eve stared at him, Morgan…she knew that name. "You're name is Morgan?"

"Yes it is." Morgan said as he looked at her with questioning eyes, "Why? You heard of me?" Eve shook her head and started to feel really dizzy. She was so hungry, she knew she would pass out any minute probably, "No…it's just a coincidence…my group…someone in it…he knew a man named Morgan." Morgan stared at her harder and got closer. Eve was starting to fade but she held up her gun with all her might. "Eve?" Morgan said to her. Her eyes grew wide and wild and she pointed her gun with more vigor, "What? How the hell do you know my name?"

"Rick. You know Rick?" Morgan said quietly approaching her. Tears started streaming down her face and she cried, "What?"

"I know Rick. I knew him. I'm trying to find him too." Morgan said as he gently took Eve's gun out of her shaking hands. She dropped to her knees and started to cry. Morgan bent down to her, "Its ok Eve, you're not alone anymore. Let's get you something to eat, and we'll talk."


	12. Chapter 12

About an hour later, Eve was still shoveling instant oatmeal into her mouth as fast as she could. Morgan snickered and handed her some water, "You better slow down, you're gonna get sick." Eve looked up from eating and stopped for a split second and then resumed. "How long has it been since you ate Eve?" Eve stopped and drank some water, replying, "Week…maybe two. I've lost track of time." Morgan shook his head, "That's a long time. You been out here alone for a long time?" Eve nodded and said, "Since what happened at the prison."

"The prison. Rick told me about the prison…" Morgan said looking at the ground. Eve winced at the mention of his name. It was so heart breaking hearing someone else say it after being alone so long. "It was our home. We got attacked. I don't know if anyone is alive…we all got separated. That was months ago…" Morgan reached into his jacket and brought out a piece of paper. Eve took another bite and said, "What's that?"

"It's something I think you need to see." Morgan said as he handed it to her. Eve put down her cup and looked at Morgan questionably. He nodded, "Look at it." Eve slowly opened it and saw that it was a map. A map to Washington DC. Eve at first was confused as to why she needed to see this but soon realized why. Down at the bottom, written in big box letters it said, "Sorry I was an asshole. Come to Washington. The new world is gonna need Rick Grimes." Eve put her hand to her mouth and Morgan heard a small cry escape her throat. Tears were flowing down her dirty cheeks as she said, quietly, "Where did you get this?"

Morgan smiled at her, "I found it in a church not too far away from here about a week or so ago. I was following signs for a sanctuary called Terminus…but someone had scratched it out and written "No Sanctuary". I think it was Rick. I don't think I'm that far behind them, but I'm a little lost. I believe they must be going to Washington DC." Eve let another cry escape as she held her mouth, "You think they're alive?"

"Yes, Eve. I do." Morgan said securely. Eve wiped her eyes, "I don't know if they know I'm alive…I guess they figured I was dead. I guess that's why…" She cried again and got up. Morgan stood up and gently put his hand on her shoulder, "I know what you're thinking."

"Do you?" Eve said sarcastically. Morgan nodded, "You're wondering why they didn't look for you?" Eve nodded as more tears fell down her cheeks, leaving stain marks. Morgan touched her hand, "You can't dwell on that now. We're gonna find them. You will be reunited." Eve smiled at Morgan through her tears, "The last I heard of you, you were Unabomber status…what happened?" Morgan smiled as he sat down, followed by Eve, "Long story."

"We have the time." Eve said as she looked at him. Morgan nodded and said, "Yeah I guess you're right." Morgan told her what had happened to him after Rick, Michonne, and Carl had run into him. He explained about meeting a man named Eastman, who Eve thought sounded like one of the best men she had ever heard described. He told her about learning the art of Aikidoka, which is what she saw him doing with the stick. He then reached into his bag and handed Eve a book, that was simply named Aikidoka. "All life is precious, Eve." Morgan said as she looked at the book. Eve nodded and Morgan said, "We better get some rest. We need to get back on track tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up." Eve nodded, she was exhausted and looked at the book he had handed her again, "Read it, if you want to." Eve nodded again and said, "I think I will." Morgan smiled as he said, "You go on to sleep, and I'll keep first watch." Eve silently thanked him and laid down into the make shift sleeping bag she had made with some of her clothes, using her pack for a pillow. Right before her eyes started shutting she said, "Can you teach me?"

"What?" Morgan said surprised because he thought she was asleep. Eve responded, "Aikidoka. I'd like to learn."

"Sure, we can start when we get on the road." Morgan said as he smiled sweetly at her. She smiled and yawned, "Thanks Morgan. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't run into you."

"Go to sleep now." Morgan said sweetly as Eve drifted off.

It had been a month since Eve and Morgan had been traveling together. They had made it to Virginia, using the map that Morgan had found. Along the way, Morgan had been teaching Eve Aikidoka, she had even made, with Morgan's help, her own Aikido stick. She still kept her gun slung behind her back, but she hardly ever used it. Morgan was right, every life was precious, and that had to be upheld for any resemblance of a normal world to ever come. As they continued walking, they reached a gate to a food warehouse. There was a car right in the middle of the big yard, surrounded by walkers. Eve got her machete out and stuck her Aikido in her pack. "There has to be people in there Morgan, why else would they crowd like that?" Morgan nodded, "You're right."

"We have to help them, they'll die." Eve said looking at Morgan. She smiled at him, "All life is precious right?"

"Yes mam. Indeed it is." Morgan said as he patted her shoulder, "Let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

_In this chapter I used another direct dialogue from the show (DON'T OWN IT). Again, I felt like it was necessary, especially for this chapter, we need to be able to see the change in Rick from the beginning of this story. Thanks again and keep reading and reviewing!_

Daryl and Aaron, an Alexandrian, sat in the car, completely trapped. Daryl chuckled and Aaron said, "What?" Daryl got out a cigarette and said, "I left there because I felt trapped. In here I feel more like myself." Aaron nodded and said, "This is all my fault. I should have never followed the person in the poncho." Daryl lit his cigarette and said, "I'm going to go, lead them away, so you can make it to the gate."

"No. This is my doing, I will do it." Aaron said seriously. Daryl shook his head and said, "Nope, I'm doing it I just want a smoke first." Aaron thought a moment and then said, "No. We fight. We fight together. If we don't make it then we don't make it, but we do it together." Daryl didn't want to argue anymore and said, "Alright." He took his cigarette out of his mouth and said, "You ready?" Aaron readied himself as did Daryl. Daryl said, "We go one three. One. Two…" Then Aaron noticed a walker's head being impaled right on his window. He looked at Daryl, and Daryl noticed one being sliced in two at his window too. Their doors flung open and they pushed walkers away as the two mystery people sliced and diced walkers from each side. They all ran to the gate and opened it. Daryl got his cross bow and shot a walker on the other side right through the head. Aaron closed the gate and breathed heavily, "Wow…that was amazing." Eve took her machete and wiped it with a rag she had on her belt. Daryl turned, seeing Eve, and said, quietly, "Badass…?" Eve immediately looked up and said with a quivering voice, "Daryl?" They ran to each other and Daryl lifted her off the ground, hugging her tight. Eve began to sob uncontrollably, holding onto Daryl as tight as she could. Morgan and Aaron looked at each other and smiled. Daryl sat her down and put his hands on her face, he was crying too and then they just held onto each other. Daryl said into her hair, "We thought you were dead."

"I've been looking for you…so long…" Eve cried into his shoulder. Daryl reached back to her face like he couldn't really believe she was there, "What happened? Where have you been?" Eve shook her head, "All over." She hugged onto Daryl again. Morgan felt like he had to interrupt at some point, "I'm Morgan…I'm guessing you two know each other?" Eve nodded and held onto Daryl saying, "He's my family." Daryl smiled through tears and pulled her in again. He then reached for Morgan's hand, which was very un-Daryl, "Daryl. This is Aaron." Aaron said hello awkwardly as Eve wiped her face and looked at Aaron, "I'm Eve." Daryl looked at Morgan, "Why did you save us?" Morgan smiled and said, "Every life is precious Daryl." Aaron nodded, "So nice to meet you Morgan…and Eve. You were in Daryl's group?" Eve nodded still holding onto to Daryl, too afraid to let him go. "You two need to come with us, we have a community, with electricity and water and safety."

"We're actually on our way somewhere…but I think we're lost…if you could help us with this map." Morgan said as he brought the map out of his pocket. Eve wiped her eyes as Daryl took the map and saw it was the one Abraham had left. He looked at Eve, and she looked so full of hope it made Daryl start to cry again, "Eve, the group…the whole group is back at Alexandria. They're back at our community." Eve just stared, wide eyed, with tears just streaming down her cheeks. Morgan reached out to Eve and grabbed her shoulder gently, comforting. Eve barely squeaked, "Everyone?"

"Everyone." Daryl said as he grabbed onto her again. She broke down and sobbed on Daryl's shoulder as he reassuringly patted her back. "You made it Badass."

Rick threw the decaying corpse in front of the Alexandrians, who were having a meeting about whether to kick him out or not. They all screamed in shock as he said, blood dripping all over his beaten face, "There wasn't a guard on the gate. It was open." Spencer looked at his mother Deanna and said, "I asked Gabriel to guard it." She responded, "Go!" Spencer ran off and Rick continued, "I didn't bring it in. It got inside, on its own. They always will; the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there…they'll hunt us, they'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. We'll kill them. We'll survive, I'll show you how. You know…I was thinking…I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not going to do that. You're gonna change. I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be, right now. Luck runs out." Jessie saw her husband, Pete, the source of all this madness coming towards the group and towards Rick. She shook her head and tried to speak as he said, "You're not one of us! YOU'RE NOT ONE OF US!" Reg, Deanna's husband rushed in front of him, "Pete, you don't want to do this."

"Get the hell away from me Reg!" Pete screamed. Rick reached for his gun as Carol said, "What the hell?" Pete had Michonne's katana in his hand and said, "Get away from me!" As he did this, he slid the blade across Reg's throat, blood spilling out. Deanna screamed and flew to her dying husband. Everyone screamed, horrified. Deanna held onto her dying husband and watched him slowly die. Michonne looked on, terrified. Deanna looked at Rick and said, "Do it." Rick reached for his gun, cocked it and shot Pete in the head, ending his life. Everyone screamed and cried out of fear. Rick could only see red as he stood over Pete's body. He'd been wanting to kill him ever since he came to Alexandria. All of the sudden he heard, quietly and timidly, a female voice say, "Rick?" He looked up and saw Daryl, Aaron, Morgan, and Eve standing there looking bewildered.


	14. Chapter 14

_Big chapter yahoo! So this is another one of my faves and I hope you like it to. I know these have been kinda cliff hangery (if that's a word) but it's for a good reason! I swear! Rick and Eve...poor souls. Please read and review, I love all reviews! Thanks bunches!_

Eve put her hand over her mouth and Rick was so mystified he didn't know what to do. He dropped his gun and stared at Eve. She looked at the man she had been trying to get to for almost four months and cried. What had happened to him? Michonne looked over and saw what was happening. She stood there, frozen like everyone else. Carol looked at the scene and realized who this was. She had heard about Eve many times, it was something that the group didn't talk about much for the sake of Rick's heart and sanity. Rick thought he was looking at a ghost. He thought he was imagining this whole thing, Eve couldn't possibly be standing less than five feet away from him at this very moment. He muttered, "Eve?" She sobbed and turned and she was gone. Morgan and Daryl followed as Michonne went with them too. Jessie, who saw this all going on wondered through her addled mind who this woman was. She didn't get a very good look, but she did see that she was beautiful. She and Rick had been somewhat close, close enough for her to feel things for him since his group got to Alexandria. She instantly felt guilty for thinking these things while her husband lay dead on the ground.

Eve stumbled away, feeling as though she was going to be sick. She knew the others were following her but she kept walking. Michonne screamed, "EVE!" Eve stopped in her tracks and turned to see her old friend, sobbing, "I thought you were dead." Michonne ran to her and took her into her arms. Eve grabbed onto her and cried, "What did I just see Michonne, what the hell is happening?"

"It's a long terrible story…let's take a walk." She said as Daryl and Morgan came up. Morgan looked just as mortified and said, "Eve, are you ok?" She didn't know how to answer that but for the sake of her friend and somewhat father figure she said, "I'll be ok Morgan…I just need to…" Daryl walked up and held her hand, "I don't know what just happened…but I know he wouldn't have done anything like that without a good reason."

"We're going to take a little walk." Michonne said as she led Eve away. Morgan and Daryl looked at each other and Morgan said, "That girl doesn't need this. She doesn't need this madness. I will protect her from this no matter what Daryl." Daryl nodded and said, "It will all work out…I hope." Rick ran up to the men and said, in a shaky voice, "Where is she? Where did she go?" Morgan stepped up to Daryl's protest and said, "She needed some time. What the hell is going on here Rick?" Rick's mind was racing and he couldn't understand why Morgan was here let alone that Eve was alive, "Where is she?" Rick seethed. Daryl placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, lightly pushing him away from Morgan, "She needed to take a moment, and she's with Michonne."

"I need to…I haven't…I thought she was dead!" Rick said as he started to cry. Daryl nodded and looked in his friend's eyes, "You need to give her a minute. She just saw you shoot a guy in the head. She hasn't seen you for months…she's been through a lot of shit to get here." Rick broke down and fell to his knees as Morgan said, "We've been on the road…together. We've been trying to find you for months. She was alone for months before that. Leave her be for now." Rick looked up at his old friend and nodded.

Eve sobbed as Michonne and she walked. She felt like she was losing her mind. She didn't expect to see that when she was reunited with Rick. "Who was that Michonne? Who was he?" Eve said through sobs. Michonne still couldn't believe that Eve was standing right there next to her and said, "His name was Pete. Jessie, another person who lives here, is his wife. Apparently he beat her…Rick got into an altercation with him a few days ago…they beat each other to a pulp. That, what you just saw was our meeting deciding to keep Rick here or send him away. Pete came in and killed the leader, Deanna's husband. She gave Rick permission to kill him." Eve threw her hands through her long hair and said, "This is insane." Michonne nodded and said, "I know it feels that way." She took a breath and stopped, "Things have happened since the prison Eve. A lot of terrible things have happened since the prison." Eve wiped her tears and straightened herself up. "I will not run away. I've been through hell to get back to him, to all of you." Michonne took her into her arms again and said, "I know you have, I can see it in your face. You've changed. We've all changed. Sometimes not for the better."

Eve and Morgan sat at a fancy kitchen table in one of the fancy houses that lined the streets of Alexandria. Eve stared forward, feeling very out of place. She still hadn't seen Rick, which she thought was so odd, but at the same time at this point she didn't even know what she would say or if she wanted to see him at this exact moment. They were in the leader, Deanna's home. They were rushed there soon after what had happened and had not seen anyone since. Morgan reached over and touched Eve's shaking hand, "Its ok. Just breathe." Eve nodded and took his advice. Morgan also took his own advice. They heard the front door open and both stood at alert. They watched for who it was, and it was Rick. He was cleaned up, but still had bandages all over his face. Eve just stared at him, she had her Akikido at the ready, and so did Morgan. She held it strong as she looked at Rick. Morgan saw the both of them staring at each other and said, "I'll be outside." Morgan excused himself and the two of them were left by themselves. Eve didn't move and kept the Akikido in front of her. Rick put his hands out and pleaded, "Eve, please put that down…I am not going to do anything to you." He saw tears pouring down her cheeks, but she didn't make one noise. He got on his knees and looked up at her, "Please? Please?" Eve dropped the stick and sobbed. Rick went to her then and wrapped her in his arms. She collapsed and held on to him. He held onto her and said, "I thought you were dead…all those walkers…I…" He couldn't finish his sentence, he was sobbing so hard. Eve shook her head, "I'm alive." Rick grabbed the sides of her face and looked into those eyes he never thought he would see again. He didn't know if he should and he really didn't care if he should so he captured her mouth with his. Eve reciprocated and threw her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. She thought she was never going feel this again and she was desperate to feel it, even though she had just seen him execute a man. Rick lifted her up in his arms and she threw her legs around his waist. Rick reached into her hair and they bumped against the wall, making some of Deanna's stuff fall to the floor. Eve grabbed onto him tighter with more desperation. Rick moaned and said against her mouth, "I love you, Eve…I need you…" She looked at his battered face and took his lips again. Just then they heard, "Oh...sorry to interrupt…" Rick and Eve looked at each other and then Eve jumped down. Rick turned around and saw Carol standing there with a slight little smile. Eve was feeling so much, she didn't even have time to feel embarrassed. Rick nodded and said, "Yes, Carol?" Eve looked at the older woman and remembered her name, she had heard the group mention her in the prison. She had killed people, Rick had banished her. She looked at Rick and then at Carol. Carol put her hand out, "I'm Carol."

"Eve." Eve said taking Carol's hand a little hesitantly. Carol smiled and said, "I've heard a lot about you." Eve nodded, "I've heard of you as well." Carol smiled and looked at Rick, who was staring at Eve and she just looked to the ground. "Well, we have a house…right across the way for you and Morgan…I know you must be exhausted." Eve nodded and picked her pack up along with her Akikdo. Carol smiled and looked at Rick and then said, "I'll just be outside." Eve nodded as Carol walked to the porch. Rick looked at Eve and said, "I know you're confused, and probably scared…I understand if you don't want to stay with me right now…" Eve looked at him, "I want to. I just can't, not yet." Rick put his hand on her face and kissed her gently and leaned his forehead against hers, "I love you Eve. I always have and I always will. I'm still me. I'll answer any questions you have…"

"Rick, I love you too. I've spent every second since we got separated trying to get back to you." Eve said as she felt tears run down her cheeks again, and she could feel Rick's too, "I don't know what I saw tonight…but I need time…" She laughed as she wiped tears, "It's so crazy isn't it? I've wanted you so desperately for so long…I finally have you…well, do I have you?" Rick reached around her waist and pulled her close again, "You will always have me." Eve stared at Rick and him at her. Eve touched the bruises and bandages on his face and lightly kissed him, "Carol and Morgan are waiting." Eve kissed him one more time and started to walk past. Rick stopped her and said, "I'll see you tomorrow right?" Eve smiled at him reassuringly, "Yes."


	15. Chapter 15

Eve and Morgan had gotten into the little house that Carol had shown them to. Deanna, the leader of these people, was obviously not in the position to welcome them considering what had happened. Eve sat in the nice kitchen in silence. So much was going on in her head and she couldn't focus. She wished she was with Rick right now, and she still hadn't seen everyone she wanted to see, but she figured she and Morgan had walked into a shit show that had started way before they arrived. Morgan walked in and sat next to her, "You ok?" Eve looked at him and said, "Not what I expected when I thought of this…but I guess nothing is expected anymore."

"I don't know what happened. I don't know what's going on, but I know that what I saw is very concerning to me." Morgan said as he looked forward. Eve knew he was right, and she was concerned too, but deep in her heart she knew Rick would never do anything like that for no reason. She had learned so much from her time with Morgan. She had learned that every life was precious and there was never a good reason for killing another human being. She agreed with that, but she knew that sometimes that didn't stand, but she didn't want to get into it at the moment. She stood up and kissed Morgan on the cheek, "I'm going to take a shower…sounds weird to say that…anyway, goodnight Morgan."

"Goodnight Eve." Morgan said sweetly.

Eve stood in the shower and let the hot water run over her dirty and sore body. She reached for the shampoo that was in there and lathered it into her long hair. She moaned because it felt so good and so foreign but familiar. She then put conditioner in her hair which she hadn't done since everything had happened to the world and loved the way her fingers ran through it. She then thought of Rick. He was just houses away from her and here she was without him. She began to cry and grabbed onto the sides of the tub and lowered herself down as the water poured over her. She had seen a look in Rick's eyes, right after he shot that man, which she had never seen before, and it scared her. She had to find out what had happened to him when the prison went down. Michonne had told her that it wasn't good, and she cringed at the thought. She hadn't had such a great time either. She was alone for months and months with no food, shelter, or her family. She had shot people. She had shot and killed many people. She was so confused and put her face in her hands. After a long time sitting under the warm water thinking and crying, she finally forced herself to get up and go to bed. She toweled her hair, really relishing in the smell of the shampoo and conditioner. She put a towel around herself, after brushing her teeth, and went into her room. She went to her pack and looked for some clothes. All of her clothes were dirty and she didn't want to put dirty clothes on her now clean body. She went to a dresser that was in her room just to see if there was anything in there. To her surprise, there were clean clothes inside. She picked up a gray t-shirt that was a little too big and some black lounge pants. She sighed as she sat on the bed. She was just about to turn the light off when she heard a soft knock on the front door. She immediately went to get her machete and stuck it into the hem of her pants. She slowly walked bare foot to the door and put her hand on her machete through the thin fabric of her shirt. Morgan must have taken the room upstairs and did not hear the knock. She said quietly through the door, "Who's there?" Whoever it was, was not answering her, "I said who's there?" She said a little louder.

"It's me." She heard Rick's voice on the other side. She immediately undid the lock and the dead bolt and opened the door. Rick was standing there, in a white t-shirt and jeans, and he looked like he was a dream. Eve stared at him and he started to speak, "I went home…and I just couldn't imagine you being so close. Are you really here Eve? Have you really come back to me?" He sounded like a wounded child, and at that moment she could see all the trauma etched in his handsome, beat up face. She saw the tears and the desperation in his eyes. She could feel her own tears and she nodded to him. He broke down and put his face in his hands and Eve couldn't stand it anymore. She went to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close as he cried. She moved his hands out of his face and captured his mouth again. He picked her up and brought her inside, closing the door behind them. They kissed nonstop, never getting enough of each other, and Eve said against Rick's eager mouth, "My room is right there." Rick took her into her room and closed the door as he laid her on the bed. Eve brought him down to her and lifted his shirt over his head. He winced and Eve began to look for injuries as he said, "I'm ok." Eve nodded as Rick pulled her shirt over her head and began to kiss down her torso. Eve moaned and threw her head back into the bed. Rick undid her pants and pulled them off of her. She wrapped her legs around him and he made his way back to her mouth. He then looked at her and said, "This feels like a dream…"

"A dream that I've had a million times." Eve said sadly. Rick nuzzled into her neck and undid his jeans. Eve gasped as he entered her and grabbed onto his back. He started out slowly but Eve said against his mouth as she gripped onto his lower back, "I want to feel you…" Rick went deeper making Eve cry out as he quickened his pace. Eve grabbed onto him as he sank deeper and deeper. Rick looked into her eyes, "Please don't ever go away again…" He was breathless and desperate and Eve grabbed on to him harder as they both came. Both of them, exhausted and sated and confused and in love laid in each other's arms. Rick rolled over and pulled her with him so they were face to face. He kissed her nose and her forehead and then her mouth. Eve wrapped her hands around his lower back and tried to pull him even closer. Rick said against her hairline, "I know you said you needed time…"

"Fuck it." Eve said as she nuzzled into him further. He let out a low chuckle and she looked up and said, "What happened Rick? What happened to you? What happened to the group? What happened to your face?" She touched his face and kissed his wounds. Rick nuzzled into her neck, taking comfort in her. He had dreamed of this and of her for so long, and he didn't want to relive the disgusting and terrible things that had happened to him and to his family. "Carl! Where's Carl? Where's Judy?" Eve said as tears started to gather. Rick caressed her face, "They're here. They're safe." Eve broke down and Rick held her closer. "It's ok baby. We're all together again. That's all that matters." Eve cried harder and Rick squeezed harder bringing her in even closer, "I'll tell you…I'll tell you everything, but not right now, please not right now. Right now I just want to hold you…" Eve nodded against his shoulder and held him. They held each other in silence for a while until Rick whispered into her hair, "Please forgive me." Eve didn't know what exactly he was trying to be forgiven for, but at that moment she didn't care. She held on to him harder and said, "Don't go away ever again." Rick brought her in and kissed her forehead and then made his way down to her mouth, "Never again."

Eve sleepily opened her eyes and realized where she was. It wasn't a dream. She looked at Rick sleeping peacefully next to her. She nuzzled into him more and brought his warmth closer. She heard a knock at the front door and noticed that Rick didn't react at all. She kissed his temple and got out of bed as quietly as she could. She knew he probably didn't get good sleep often. She slid out of bed and put her t-shirt and pants back on as she made her way to the front door. Morgan appeared at the bottom of the stairs and Eve smiled, "Good morning."

"Good morning. There's someone at the door. I think it's for you." Morgan said as he smiled. Eve looked at him questioningly, and opened the door. There stood Carl, holding little Judith. Carl had tears in his eyes and Eve immediately grabbed hold of both of them as she cried, "Carl…"

"Eve, you're alive." Carl said as he cried. Eve nodded and looked at the little girl in his arms. Judy looked at Eve and smiled and immediately stuck her little arms out. Eve sobbed as she took the baby in her arms, she had grown, "Hey sweet girl. I've missed you so much." Carl came inside and threw his arms around Eve's shoulders, he was taller than her now, which was crazy. Eve grabbed onto him as she held on to Judy, who was cooing and grabbing onto her hair as she used to. She looked at Carl as she cried, "Are you ok? Are you all ok?"

"We're ok." Carl said through his tears. Eve sobbed and said, "Come here." She grabbed onto Carl harder and Judith cooed and smiled at her. Judith put her head into the crook of Eve's chin. Tears streamed down Eve's cheeks and she looked at Morgan. Morgan smiled and nodded as he made his way to the kitchen. Eve wiped her eyes and looked at Carl. Carl shook his head and said through tears, "Is this real Eve? Are you here?"

"I'm here, Carl." She said as she took him in her arms again. Rick walked out at that moment and witnessed the reunion of Eve and his children. Tears gathered in his eyes as he watched the three of them hold each other. He heard Judy squeal with delight as Eve held onto her tight. He watched Carl hold on to her like he would never let go. Rick walked up and held them all in his arms. Morgan watched from the kitchen and thought about his family. He thought about Eve and was happy for her, but also concerned for her as well. Rick was not the man that he remembered in King County. Rick was so fortunate to have his children, and to have Eve again. Morgan hoped he knew that. Eve looked and through her tears she could see Glenn and Maggie approaching. She went to Glenn, with Judy still in her arms and he pulled him into a hug. Eve cried on Glenn's shoulder as he said, "Thanks for saving my life again… back at the prison." Eve nodded and patted his shoulder as Maggie came up and gave her a hug. Maggie said through her tears, "You know you saved all of our lives." Eve just squeezed Maggie harder as Judith squealed with laughter. Eve smiled at her and adjusted her in her arms as Judy tugged at her long hair. Eve looked around and said, "Where's Beth?" They all got quiet and she turned and looked at Rick, who looked at her sadly. Eve put her hand to her mouth and grabbed Maggie again, "No, Maggie…I'm so sorry." Maggie cried and Eve pulled her in again. Glenn rubbed Maggie's back. Eve repeated again, "I'm so sorry." Nodded and wiped her eyes. Michonne and Sasha walked up then and Sasha came to hug Eve, "Good to see you." Eve said, "Good to see you too." She gave Michonne a hug too and Michonne noticed Judy in her arms. Michonne felt a few tears escape. Then, three people Eve didn't know walked up. One was tall and broad shouldered with red hair and a beard. The other was a petite woman, looked to be Hispanic, with a baseball hat on. The third, a pudgy man with a mullet. Rick walked up then and said, "Eve, this is Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene. We met them along the way here." Eve looked at Rick and knew there was a story there. She stuck her hand out and said, "I'm Eve, nice to meet you all." Rosita shook it first and then Abraham said, "We've heard a lot about you." He then took her hand. Eve smiled and looked at Eugene who tentatively took her hand, "Nice to meet you mam. From we have heard, you sound like someone I would like to get to know." Eve smiled at his awkwardness and said, "Well, thank you Eugene." She could feel Rick's hand on her lower back and she smiled at him. Eve looked around again, noticing Tyreese was not there, nor was Bob. She looked at Sasha and didn't even want to ask, "Tyreese?" Sasha shook her head and Eve put her hand on her face again, feeling sick. She handed Judy to Rick and she went to Sasha, "Bob too?" She saw the tears gathering in Sasha's eyes and Eve wrapped her arms around her. "Sasha...I don't even know what to say." Sasha looked at her as she wiped her tears, "Being here is enough." Eve hugged her again and Eve said looking at Rick, "I think everyone needs to meet Morgan." Rick nodded as Eve continued, "Morgan and I came here together. For those of you who know me, I know you can trust me when I say that he is a good person and a capable person. I don't know what I would have done without him. I probably would have died." Eve stopped and took a breath, "Those of you who don't know me yet, you can trust me. And you can trust him. You have our word. I know sometimes in this world now, people's words are not always true, but I can assure you ours is." Everyone nodded as Rick grabbed her hand and Judy squealed in his arms, thrusting her arms out to Eve. Eve smiled and said, "Come here you." As she took her from Rick. Rick let go of her hand and kissed her quickly before he went inside. They all started to walk in and Rosita stopped in front of Eve and said, "Heard you know your way around a machete." Eve nodded and Rosita said, "Also heard you were one hell of a shot." Eve nodded again and said, "I am."

"You think you would want to help me teach these people from here to protect themselves?" Rosita said. Eve questioned, "From walkers?"

"Yeah…and anything else that comes their way. They've been in here ever since this all started. They have no idea what's out there. We do. We need to show them." Rosita said seriously. Eve nodded and said, "I can help…but I don't glorify killing other human beings unless absolutely necessary. There are alternate ways to protect yourself without killing." Rosita chuckled and patted her shoulder, "Alright." Eve smiled as they walked in with the others. As she turned to go inside she saw some the Alexandrians walking past or in front of their houses; they were all staring at her. She felt very uncomfortable until she heard a familiar voice, "Hey Badass. Everyone over here?" Eve smiled at Daryl and nodded as he hugged her. Carol was with him and said, "I know we met last night, but just wanted to tell you I'm glad you're here." Eve nodded and said, "Thanks." She liked Carol, but there was something about her that seemed off. Maybe it was because she knew she had killed innocent people. That made her quite uneasy. Carol saw Judy in Eve's arms, playing with her hair, "She obviously remembers you. She's never quiet for this long." Eve tried not to react to the fact that Carol had taken care of Judith enough to know that, which made her uneasy, and she responded as she kissed Judy's pink cheek, "Yeah, we go way back." Carol smiled and they all walked inside.


	16. Chapter 16

They had been talking for about an hour, when Judy fell asleep on Eve's shoulder and she put her down for a nap. Rick explained to Morgan and Eve about Alexandria, and explained what had happened the night before. He explained about Jessie and Pete and about the fight that they had before he killed him. He explained that Pete was dangerous and killed Reg. Eve and Morgan listened intently, and Morgan could tell that Eve's mood started to change. He was right. Being just the two of them on the road for so long, they had started to pick up each other's internal cues. Eve was confused about this whole Pete story and she could tell when Rick talked about it, he seemed weird about it. She knew it had something to do with this Jessie person. She remembered seeing her when it all happened; she was a pretty blonde about average height and build and she stared Eve down like a cobra. Why did Rick care so much to not only single this guy out, but risk getting himself kicked out of somewhere he just became a part of? Especially with Judy and Carl to think about. She tried to not let her mind go crazy places, and he had thought she was dead, but still she had a bad feeling about Jessie. Morgan looked at Eve and her at him briefly. Rick noticed this but continued to speak, "These people…they're not like us. They don't understand what it's like out there. We have to teach them. Teach them how to defend themselves."

"And how to kill?" Morgan said. Everyone looked at him and Rick nodded nervously, "In certain situations, yes." Morgan shook his head, and looked down. Rick narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you want to say something?" Morgan shrugged his shoulders as Eve looked to the ground. "I just think there are other ways of protecting yourself besides killing human beings…I will not kill." Rick looked at Eve who avoided his eyes and said, "I know where you are coming from Morgan…but sometimes and many times…killing is the only way. If we want to protect what we have and protect our people…our loved ones…" Rick looked at Eve again and she looked at him and then at Morgan, "Morgan is right. Yes, we have to protect ourselves and our family…but we can do that without putting a bullet through someone's head." Rick stopped and looked at her like she had just shot him through the head. The rest of the group also looked at her and Sasha said, "You don't know what we've all been through…you don't know what we've seen, you don't know the hatefulness and cruelness people have."

"I don't?" Eve said as she looked at Sasha. Rick intervened and said, "I think we can stop right there for now." Eve nodded and walked out the back door. Sasha looked at Rick, "Sorry Rick I just…"

"I'll talk to her." Rick said as he went out the back. Morgan looked at the rest of the group and said, "She may not have gone through everything you all went through, which sounds pretty terrible, but she was alone for months before she found me. I think that's its own hell in and of itself. I know, I've been there. We've all lost people we love. We've all seen the way the world works now, but we don't have to stoop to its level unjustified. That's all I'm saying. We're all good people."

Rick walked outside and saw Eve standing there with her arms wrapped around herself. He walked up behind her and gently laid a hand on her back. She said, "I'm sorry Rick…I just…I don't know."

"It's ok." Rick said as he wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head against his chest and sighed, "I don't know what you all went through…I don't, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand. I didn't mean to insinuate anything either about Pete…"

"Eve, you know I would never kill someone without a reason. You know that." Rick said as Eve turned around, "Why did you do it Rick? I know you said he was beating Jessie, which is terrible, but to kill him?"

"He was a threat Eve. He would have killed me. He came there with that sword for a reason, and killed Reg in the crossfire. He was a drunk and a wife beater and he would have gotten us all killed." Rick said looking into Eve's eyes. She saw that thing again in his eyes, the same thing she saw the other night when he shot Pete. She had never seen that before and she had to get to the bottom of it, "What happened to you? What happened to all of you? Please tell me." She put her hands on each side of his face, pleading with him. Rick closed his eyes and led her over to the steps. They sat down next to each other and Rick began to tell her. He began with after the prison when they all got separated, he thought Eve and Judith were dead and it was just Carl and him. They traveled a while together and Michonne found them. They went to an abandoned house to find shelter, where a group of men came in and Rick had to kill one of the men to escape. They started following road signs to a sanctuary called Terminus, but before getting there they ran into the same gang of men who now had Daryl with them. They called themselves the Claimers and tried to kill them all, but not before trying to rape Carl and Michonne. Rick had to bite the leader's throat out, and then killed the rest of the group. Eve grabbed his hand and squeezed it has he continued. He said they made it to Terminus, but it ended up being no sanctuary at all as they were all herded into a cattle car, where he was reunited with the others. The people there ended up being cannibals and Rick, Daryl and Glenn almost got their throats slit like pigs in a trough. Eve listened, the look on her face growing more and more terrified. "We had to take the place down, which wasn't easy, but we did it with the help of Carol on the outside. That's when I found Judy again. She had been with Carol and Tyreese." Rick got a little emotional and Eve sat closer to him squeezing his hand again. He went on, "We found an abandoned church, or so we thought it was, but there was a priest held up in there but he let us stay, that's Gabriel. He's here now too." Rick shook his head, "The people from Terminus were hunting us and kidnapped Bob…and they…they ate some of him." Rick said as he looked to the ground. Eve thought she was going to be sick and stood up for a minute to try to subside the nausea. Rick continued after a while, "We took care of them though. I made sure of that." Rick continued again, "We found out that Beth was at Grady Memorial hospital with a group of people who thought they were police officers or something. Of course we went, but Beth didn't make it. More people died. Tyreese died going on a run with a kid we took in on the way that was with Beth, his name was Noah. He's dead too." Eve turned around and got on her knees in front of him and held his hands, "Is that when you came here?"

"Aaron found us. We had been on the road for a while and we had no food or water…it was getting desperate. So, for Judy and Carl's sake I made the decision to come here." Rick said as he looked at Eve. Eve was speechless, she didn't know how to comfort him or what the right words to say were, so she just reached her arms around him and brought him into her. He grabbed onto her and nuzzled into her neck. She whispered to him, "I'm so sorry baby…I'm so sorry." Rick held onto her for dear life. Rehashing everything that had happened made him relive all those terrors again, which made him even more grateful that Eve had found him and they were together again. They held each other for a long time, just feeling each other's arms around themselves. Eve lifted his head and kissed him sweetly and he reciprocated with more vigor. Just then they heard, "Oh…sorry to interrupt." Eve and Rick broke off to see Jessie standing there with what looked like clothes in a box. Eve adjusted herself and Rick looked at Jessie, and she said, "I just was going through some old clothes of mine and thought you could use them…its Eve right?" Eve probably had a weird look on her face; who just walks up to two people kissing and starts talking? She cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm Eve." Jessie smiled and stuck her hand out, "Jessie." Eve shook her hand tentatively and Jessie continued, "Last night was…well I didn't get a chance to meet you. Didn't know if there was any clothes in this house…it's been empty for a while…" Jessie looked away, and Eve remembered that Rick had killed her husband the night before; this was awkward. Rick then said, "Jessie…last night…I had to do it. I'm sorry it had to happen like that."

"No, you're right. He was out of his mind. It's still not really sunk in…but it will get better. I just worry about my kids." Jessie said looking at Rick. Eve didn't like the way she looked at him, and it made her uneasy. Eve was never a jealous person, but she didn't want anyone trying to step into what was hers, especially Rick. Eve took Rick's hand then and Jessie looked down at the gesture and smiled weirdly saying, "Well anyway, here they are if you want them." Eve nodded at her and said, "Thanks." Jessie nodded and started to walk away as Rick said, "Have you heard anything from Deanna?"

"No. She's just been in her house. I'll go check on her later." Jessie said giving Rick that look again. Eve squeezed his hand and Rick noticed, looking down at her. Jessie nodded again and walked off. Rick looked down at Eve, "What was that about?"

"I don't like the way she looks at you." Eve said seriously looking at Jessie as she walked off. Rick looked at her questionably, "What do you mean?"

"I don't like the way she looks at you…it's a woman thing. She looks at you like she wants you." Eve said seriously. Rick laughed a little, which felt good after the talk they just had, "Someone a little jealous?"

"I don't know…should I be?" Eve said looking at him with one eye brow raised. Rick playfully picked her up and she squealed as he kissed her, holding her in his arms, "Never. I've only got eyes for you." Eve laughed, feeling like for once, in a very long time, like she was a normal person having a cute moment with her boyfriend. She kissed him and he deepened it, saying against her mouth, "You know I think I heard most of the group leave, and Judy is napping…" Eve closed her eyes as he kissed her neck and giggled, "They're going to think all I do is have sex with you…"

"Sounds good to me." Rick said as he took them inside while Eve screamed playfully.

Rick and Eve laid in her bed talking for at least an hour. Judy was still napping to their shock, and they had time to be alone. Rick asked her about the time they spent apart and how she found Morgan. "You two seem very close…" Rick said looking down at Eve who was laying her head on his chest. Eve laughed and said, "Jealous?" Rick chuckled, he knew there wasn't anything going on between the two of them as far as romance went, but he did feel they had a connection that he was a little jealous of. "Maybe a little bit." Rick said. Eve snuggled closer into him and kissed his jaw line, "Morgan is like a father to me…nothing to be jealous of." Rick shook his head slightly and said, "I don't mean like that…you two just have a strong connection. It's different than the relationships with the others...I can see that." Eve rolled on top of him and squeezed her legs around his hips which made Rick smile and close his eyes, "We were alone for a long time. He's taught me a lot. I respect him and care for him." Eve leaned down as she put Rick inside of her making both of them moan. She said breathlessly as she moved him deeper, "I love you." Rick grabbed the sides of her face and kissed her as she moved quicker against him. Rick grabbed onto her hips as she threw her head back and moaned loudly, her long hair trailed down her back as Rick pulled her deeper on top of him. Eve cried out and Rick flipped them over. He moved faster inside of her and said into her neck, "I love you…" Eve grabbed onto him with desperation. Just then the doorbell rang and Rick and Eve looked at each other. Rick rolled his eyes, "Of course." Eve giggled and kissed his neck, "Perfect timing." Rick kissed her and moaned in protest as she moved out from underneath him. She began putting some jeans on and her faded plaid flannel. Rick smiled at her as he rolled over and said, "You don't want to wear the clothes Jessie brought?"

"I'm not wearing her clothes." Eve said while she buttoned her shirt. Rick got up and started putting his jeans and shirt on. He went over to her and began kissing her again then said against her mouth, "I love you." Eve smiled, kissing him back saying, and "I love you too." Just then the doorbell rang again and they smiled at each other. They went to the front door and Rick opened it to reveal a haggard Deanna. "Oh hello Rick, hope I'm not interrupting anything…just was coming by to talk to Eve and Morgan." Rick nodded as Eve stepped up, "Deanna, it's nice to meet you." Eve smiled and put her hand out. Deanna looked shocked at her gesture, she was used to Rick's group being paranoid and distant, especially when they first came; but this woman seemed warm and friendly. Deanna smiled back and took her hand, "Nice to meet you too Eve." Eve continued, "I am so sorry about what happened to your husband…" Deanna nodded and said, "Me too."


	17. Chapter 17

Rick left Eve's house so that Morgan and she could talk to Deanna. He left Judy there with Eve, as requested. He felt a little uneasy not being with Eve every second, especially since they had just found each other again but forced himself to let go because they both had things to do. He went to the gates and saw Daryl and Glenn talking to each other as a few Alexandrians looked wary at Rick. Carter, one of the Alexandrians looked at Rick with a certain kind of hate and fear. It did not go unnoticed. Rick narrowed his eyes at him and then looked to Glenn and Daryl. Daryl said, "Where's Badass?" Rick smiled, "She and Morgan are talking to Deanna. What's going on?"

"Well besides everyone here looking at us like we're about to kill them, we think we might have found something that could be a big problem." Glenn said quietly enough so the people around them couldn't hear. Rick got a grave look and said, "Do we need to meet?"

"We definitely need to meet. I think Deanna should be there, probably Spencer. Aaron should too." Daryl said. Rick shook his head, "I think as many Alexandrians that can be there should…these people need to start understanding what's going on and why they need to be ready." Glenn and Daryl nodded and Rick said, "I'll talk to Deanna about it."

Eve, with Judith in her arms, followed Deanna and Morgan out of her and Morgan's house. Deanna had spoken with both of them separately and had videotaped them. Eve had found it odd but Deanna assured her that she did this to every new person that came into Alexandria. She had asked about her life before what happened with the walkers, she had asked what happened afterwards, she had asked everything. Eve told her what she was comfortable in telling her, but she kept some things to herself. She had a feeling Morgan probably did the same. Deanna had put them on duties, which Eve didn't really think of as odd since that is pretty much what they did at the prison. Eve was assigned to watch the gate, since news had obviously travelled that she was a hell of a good shot, and she was also asked to help Rosita with the training of the Alexandrians. She knew Rosita had probably requested it. Deanna welcomed them and then turned to leave. Morgan and Eve stood there alone for a bit, looking around questioningly. Morgan finally said, "I don't know about this place." Eve laughed sarcastically and said, "I don't either. What's your duty?"

"Carpentry." Morgan said a little under his breath. Eve couldn't help it, she burst out into laughter and Judy laughed along, "Carpentry? Why?"

"Well, I didn't want to help teach these people how to kill and they have enough at the gate so…carpentry it is." Morgan said as he smiled at Judith and took her little hand. "I'm not teaching people how to kill Morgan…I will teach them how to protect themselves, that's all." Eve said seriously. Morgan nodded and patted her on the back comfortingly. "Did she tell you about the blood tests?" Eve said squinting her eyes in the sun. Morgan nodded, "Apparently a precaution. We have to get it done in a couple of weeks, huh?"

"Yeah. Everyone did it I guess. Since that Pete guy died, he was the doctor around here, we have to wait for the new doctor to get acclimated or something?" Eve said as she rolled her eyes. Morgan chuckled, "I rather not do it all to tell you the truth." Eve nodded, "Me either."

About a week later, Eve was up on top of the watch tower, keeping watch. It felt like old times. Maggie was in the watch tower across the way. She had left Judith with Carl, and Judith was not too happy about it. Ever since she had gotten back the little girl only wanted to be with her. She also hadn't seen Rick in a couple of hours and was really feeling it and wanting to see him. She took a sigh and heard, "You're relieved." Eve swung around and almost hit the guy in the face. He backed up and said, "Whoa! Sorry!" Eve brought her arm down and said, "Sorry…don't sneak up on people like that."

"Sorry, I'm Spencer. I've seen you around a lot, guess we've never gotten to officially meet." He said as he stuck his hand out to her. She smiled and took his hand, "Eve, nice to meet you. Deanna's son right?" Spencer nodded and looked a little sad and Eve remembered his dad had just died a week ago, "Oh…sorry about your dad, I heard great things about him and your mom is great too."

"Thanks." Spencer said as he smiled slightly. Eve nodded and then handed him her gun, "Here you go." She started to make her way out and Spencer touched her hand, which was a little weird. Eve looked down at his hand and he let go, "So you were with Rick and his group?" Eve took a step back and looked at him questionably, "Yes I was."

"So, you're like with Rick then?" Spencer said looking into her eyes. Eve felt like this was a conversation that she shouldn't be having. Spencer was a cute young guy, but she was not interested in him at all and just met him, why was he asking these questions. "Yes I am with Rick…but I don't really think that's any of your business." Spencer laughed and looked back up at her, "Yeah you're right…I'm sorry. We just don't get beautiful women like yourself here very often." Eve laughed sarcastically, "Ok, I'm going to go now…have a great night." Eve turned and started to climb down the high ladder as Spencer shouted out, "Just saying!" Eve rolled her eyes and jumped onto the ground. She put her hand on her machete that was hooked onto her belt and looked back up at Spencer. He was just a young guy trying to be flirty, it had happened to her all the time, but this made her feel uneasy. She turned and started walking towards her house to see Jessie and Rick in some kind of conversation. She stopped and watched, she knew neither one of them saw her. Rick was keeping his distance as Jessie was inching towards him with every word that must have been said. Eve felt her blood boil as she saw Jessie reach out and put her hand on his arm. Eve felt like she was going to throw up and ducked behind a tree to not be seen by them. Rick gently but firmly took his arm away from her hand as Jessie looked frustrated and huffed away. Rick shook his head and turned towards her tree and she took in a breath, she really didn't want him to see her spying because that was exactly what she was doing. Just then she heard, "What the hell are you doing?" Eve jumped about a foot and saw Michonne standing there with a funny look on her face. Eve shushed her and said, "Be quiet!" Michonne got closer and whispered, "Are you on some kind of secret mission?"

"It's not funny, I just saw Jessie and Rick talking to each other." Eve said quietly. Michonne responded, "So?"

"She touched him. Something is going on. I know it." Eve said as she looked at Michonne. Michonne shook her head and acted casual, "You need to get a grip." Eve scoffed and was even more pissed that her friend wasn't taking her side. Then, Rick walked up, "What are you ladies doing behind this tree?" Michonne walked away quickly and Eve straightened herself, "Um…nothing just talking." Rick looked at her sideways, "Eve…you're a terrible liar, what's going on?" He then walked up to her and put his arms around her to which she ducked out of, "I saw you. With Jessie." Rick stepped back and rubbed his temples, "Eve…"

"What's going on Rick?" Eve said seriously. Rick shook his head and looked at her, "Nothing. It's nothing Eve…" He reached out and put his hands on each side of her face. Eve could feel tears gathering but tried her best to keep them in, "It didn't look like nothing to me." Eve started to walk away and said, "You're a terrible liar too." Rick stood there a little longer and knew he had to tell her. He caught up with her and grabbed her hand, "Hey, stop. Listen…" Eve turned around and Rick saw the tears in her eyes and her fair cheeks were turning pink. He pulled her into him, "Don't cry, please." Eve shook her head, "Just tell me what's going on, now."

"Listen, it's nothing….before you got here…Jessie and I…we kissed. Once. That's it." Rick said looking into her eyes. Eve felt like she was going pass out and felt the hot tears run down her cheeks, "You kissed her?" She could hear her own voice and it sounded so pathetic. She put her hands through her hair and took a deep breath as Rick grabbed her face again, "Once. It was weird and I was…I don't know I was still grieving for you…and that whole thing with Pete, it just happened but it never happened again."

"And now she's upset that I'm here because what? She wants you right? Just like I said." Eve then turned around again, she was about to break down and she didn't want to do that in front of him for some reason. She felt so many things all at once and she needed to be alone. Rick caught up to her again and said, "Please can we talk about this? Don't walk away. I don't have those feelings for her at all Eve, I love you more than anyone in my life. You and Judy and Carl are everything to me, you know that."

"But you felt those feelings for her enough to kiss her. I was out there trying to find you and trying to stay alive, trying to get back to you to our family…and you were kissing Jessie." Eve said with a little more anger than she intended. She was really crying by this point and wiped her eyes quickly. Rick grabbed her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes, "Please forgive me. Please Eve. I don't care about Jessie you know that! I thought you were dead…I thought I had lost you forever…"

"So you kissed Jessie? I'm sorry I keep saying that…" Eve said as she put her face in her hands. Rick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in. Eve let go and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry baby. You were right, you were right the whole time. You have to know that all I want is you, all I have ever wanted is you." Eve sniffled and then pulled away a little to look at him, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Were you ever going to tell me?"

"You had just gotten back and I was so relieved and grateful and happy I just…I didn't want to ruin that over something so stupid…because that's what it was." Rick said looking into her eyes again. Eve nodded and stepped back a little. Rick looked at her like a wounded animal and Eve could see the tears in his eyes, "Please forgive me Eve, please."

"That's what you were asking for forgiveness for the first night I was here wasn't it?" Eve said between sobs. Rick just looked at her with such sadness in his eyes it was heart breaking, "And for not trying to find you…for thinking you were dead." Rick said as tears ran down his cheeks. Eve nodded and said, "I need some time alone right now Rick…I'm sorry. Just a little time." She said as she put her hand to her mouth and started to walk towards her house. She had been staying with Rick in his house with Carl and Judy this whole time, but she needed to be alone tonight. Rick started to panic and ran up to her. Eve turned around and put her hands out, "Please, please, I just need some time." Rick stopped and nodded as he wiped his eyes and watched her walk into her house. Rick stood there alone for a while and sobbed, thinking of what to do next. For the first time in a long time, he had no idea.

Eve walked into the house and slammed the door behind her, making Morgan jump out of his seat in the kitchen. He was back from his carpentry duties and since Eve had moved over to Rick's he wasn't used to anyone coming in unannounced. He got his Akido at the ready, just out of habit and headed to the door. He saw Eve standing there slumped over and she was crying. Morgan dropped his weapon and ran over to her and said gently, "Eve, what's going on?" Eve looked up at him with swollen red eyes and shook her head as she went to her room and shut the door. Morgan stood there dumbfounded for a minute and then gently walked to her door and softly knocked, "Eve, are you ok?" Eve straightened up and tried to sound as normal and strong as possible, "I'm ok Morgan. I just need some time alone." Morgan nodded at the door and said, "You let me know if you need anything you hear?" Eve felt more tears stream down her cheeks and said, "Thanks Morgan." Eve held onto herself and tried to stop the sobs from coming out of her mouth. She felt so utterly betrayed. She knew a kiss was just a kiss, but the fact that he did it so soon after he apparently thought she was dead and didn't tell her about it, made her heart shatter into a million pieces. He had said that he was sorry he didn't look for her, and that had brought up a lot of feelings that she had had when she first found out that he was alive. She had spent months looking for him, searching for him, trying to get to him; and she had found him. Why wouldn't he have done that for her? There was so much going on in her head and she just laid down on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to stop crying.


	18. Chapter 18

It was pretty late that evening when Rick finally got Judith down for the night. Eve not being there made her very upset and it seemed like the whole household was turned upside down. He also had to dodge questions from Carl as well as to why Eve wasn't there. He had been keeping an eye on her house all evening and had not seen her emerge once. He walked out onto the porch and started pacing, thinking of what to do next. He was not going to lose her again no matter what.

"Hey Rick." Daryl said as he approached a very obviously agitated Rick. Rick turned around quickly and said, "What?" Daryl gave him a look and could see that he looked very upset, which wasn't good, "I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow, the meeting with everyone? You've been kinda MIA today so I just wanted to stop by…you ok?" Daryl walked up to the porch and sat down on the steps. Rick stopped and put his hands in his hair, "No, I'm not ok." Daryl sighed and thought he should probably get out of this while he still could, he wasn't good with talking about feelings and all of that, but Rick was his friend and he was obviously very upset. "What's going on?" Rick sat down next to Daryl and looked to the ground, "I did something really stupid…" Daryl huffed, "Like what?"

"I kissed Jessie." Rick said as he put his face in his hands. Daryl looked over at him, feeling weirdly very angry and protective, "What the fuck you talking about?"

"It happened before Eve came back. It was once and it didn't mean anything and I was grieving for Eve so badly…and now she knows and she is very upset with me. It feels like I've lost her over this stupid thing with this woman that I couldn't care a less about…and I didn't look for her Daryl! I didn't go back to that prison and try to find her, I should've tried harder I should've…fuck I don't know." Rick said as he buried his face in his hands again. Daryl softened a little and said, "Ok hold up. First of all, we all thought she was dead, she was overtaken by walkers, we all saw it. But, she's Badass, so she made it out. We all didn't have a choice and we all got separated, and it sucked. We're here together now and it was hell for all of us. As far as the kissing thing…well Badass will be ok after some time. She just came into this situation and she's dealing with a lot of shit, so the kissing thing probably isn't why she's so upset…I mean it's definitely part of it don't get me wrong." Daryl nudged Rick and said, "Go over there. Right now. You guys don't need to be doing this to each other. Who knows how much time we got left?"

"She doesn't want me over there…she wants time to herself." Rick said as he wiped his face. "Oh fuck time, get over there, Rick. If anyone deserves to be happy and together it's you two." Rick looked at Daryl and smiled slightly. Daryl continued, "Plus I don't want to deal with all that drama bullshit with taking sides and all that, so just get the hell over there and show her how you feel." Rick laughed this time and patted Daryl on the back as he got up and made his way over to Eve's house.

Morgan had been reading in the living room when he heard a knock on the door. He put his book down and went to the door, "Who is it?"

"It's Rick." He heard from the other side of the door. Morgan knew what this was about and it was probably the reason Eve had not come out of her room for hours. He huffed and opened the door, "Hello Rick."

"Morgan." Rick said nodding at him. Morgan could see that Rick looked terrible and extremely sad, "You here to see Eve huh?"

"Yes. I need to see her." Rick said as he looked past Morgan to see if she was in there. Morgan shook his head, "Well good luck because she hasn't come out of her room for hours..." Morgan wanted to ask and find out what was going on but in a way he knew it wasn't his business so he let Rick in. Rick started towards Eve's door and Morgan said to him, "Don't hurt that girl Rick, she's been through enough." Rick just looked at Morgan and nodded. Morgan grabbed his book and went upstairs. Rick softly knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He gently said, "Eve? It's me." Still nothing. He tried the doorknob and opened the door quietly. He peered in to see her curled on the bed, sleeping. He smiled to himself and closed the door behind him. I got closer to her and could see her swollen eyes from crying and he gently put his hand through her hair. She moved a little but didn't wake up. He didn't want to wake her up, so he took off his boots and climbed on the bed behind her wrapping his arms around her. He nuzzled his face into her neck, smelling her hair, and whispered, "I'm so sorry…I love you so much. I don't want to be away from you for one second longer. I can't." Eve opened her eyes and pulled him closer. Rick began to cry and Eve rolled over to face him. They stared into each other and Rick said through his tears, "I'm sorry I woke you up I know you said you needed time…" Eve stopped him with her finger on his lips and nuzzled into him further. He held her closer and they stayed like that for a while, just in the quiet with each other. Eve finally broke the silence, "I love you." Rick signed with relief and brought her to his lips. Eve reciprocated as Rick rolled on top of her gently. Eve wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in making him moan against her mouth. She broke off and they looked at each other, "I don't want anything to come between us. Ever." Rick said as he stared into her eyes. Eve nodded and went for his mouth again. She was still feeling hurt and strange but she loved him so much and was so relieved to be with him again, she just wanted to try to forget about the whole thing and be with him in the moment. In this world, time was so precious and she knew that first hand, she wasn't going to waste any more time. She started to undo his jeans and Rick looked at her again, stopping her, "I need to know that you know nothing will ever come between us." Eve touched his face and said, "I know, Rick." He smiled and started kissing her again, this time more fiercely. Eve quickly started undoing his pants. They were like teenagers that had been separated too long and needed to feel each other. Just then the door opened and Carl said, "Oh my god, I'm sorry." He then shut the door as quickly as he opened it. Rick called out, annoyed, "Carl?"

"Sorry Dad, just need you real quick…Judy is crying and won't stop…" Carl said behind the door. Eve's cheeks reddened and she chuckled, good thing he came in when he did and not after. Eve stood up and said, "I'll take care of it." Rick grabbed Eve's hand and pulled her back to kiss her then said, "You ok?"

"I'm fine. Tell your son to knock next time." Eve said slightly smiling. Rick chuckled as she opened the door to see a very embarrassed Carl. "Oh hey Eve…sorry about that…"

"It's alright, just knock next time huh?" She said as she messed with his hair. He laughed and nodded as she made her way back to Rick's house. As soon as she got outside she could already hear Judy crying. She quickened up her pace to get to her sooner, looking very forward to holding the little girl in her arms.

The next day, everyone gathered into Deanna's house for the meeting that the group suggested. The Alexandrians had no idea what this meeting was for but they all knew it couldn't be good. They all looked around warily as they filed into the house. Rick and Daryl stood in the living room with Deanna, waiting for the others. Daryl looked over and said, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rick said as he nodded. Daryl nodded back, "Good. How do you think these people are gonna take this?"

"Guess we're about to find out." Rick said as he noticed Jessie walking in with Carol. She gave him a slight smile and he did not return it. She looked at him strangely and then sat down. Rosita and Eve had just finished up teaching some of the others about how to use a machete and were running a little late. Rosita looked at Eve, "Good job today." Eve nodded and said, "Thanks."

"You're quieter than usual…you alright?" Rosita said trying not to sound too concerned. Eve nodded and replied, "Yep." Rosita nodded back and said, "Where's the kid?"

"She's napping, she'll be alright. Carl is looking after her while we're here." Eve said as they approached the door of Deanna's house. She was not looking forward to this meeting at all. She really didn't want to be there but she knew she had to. What they were proposing was going to be dangerous and she knew the others would definitely not like the idea, but it was the only way to keep what they had safe. She also didn't want to see Jessie, she felt like if she saw her she wouldn't be able to control herself. Just then Michonne walked up and grabbed Eve's hand. Eve nodded at Rosita as she walked into the house. Michonne said, "Hey, are you ok? I heard something happened yesterday…"

"Boy news travels fast. Yes I'm fine." Eve said as she started to walk in. Michonne pulled her back, "You don't seem fine."

"Michonne I'm ok, I really don't want to talk about it right now before this meeting." Eve said as she tried to sound as calm as possible but she knew her friend was on to her. Michonne looked a little hurt and Eve grabbed her hand, "We'll talk I promise…I need to…just not now and not here, ok?" Michonne nodded and they walked inside together. It seemed like all of the Alexandrians were together and their group was together, there was definitely a split and that was awkward. A lot of them looked warily at the others and it made Eve feel uncomfortable, like something bad could happen at any moment. She really noticed Carter and Spencer glaring at Rick like he was some kind of terrorist. Spencer noticed Eve and gave her a slimy smile to which she slightly smiled back. Rick immediately noticed when Eve walked in and went to her. Eve smiled at him and he grabbed her hand, "Are you alright?" Eve rolled her eyes and said, "Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm fine." Eve said with more annoyance than she wanted to because she could see the look on Rick's face. He didn't deserve that. She quickly recovered and grabbed his hand and kissed him lightly on the mouth, "Sorry, that was bitchy. I'm fine really." Rick smiled and kissed her back, Eve could feel Jessie's eyes on them and it made her feel sick. Rick looked at her and said, "It's ok…you just don't seem like yourself, are you feeling alright?" Eve chuckled a little and said under her breath, "Feeling a little nauseous…" She side eyed where Jessie was. Rick hugged her and said in her ear, "I know, I'm sorry, we'll make this quick." Eve nodded and then took his hand. She couldn't help but notice that both Jessie and Spencer eyed them down. Eve felt uncomfortable and really actually started feeling nauseous, so she decided to sit down. Rick noticed and she gave him a look that she was ok. He didn't believe her, she looked pale and was definitely not acting like herself. He was about to say something to her when Deanna started speaking, "Ok, I think everyone is here now. Rick?" Rick nodded and stepped up. He went into why they were there and explained that there was a quarry not too far from them with hundreds and hundreds of walkers that were trapped by semi-trucks. He explained that he and Daryl had found it and they had also seen that one of the trucks holding them in was very close to falling, letting all these walkers free. "We have to keep them from getting here. It's not a matter of if it will happen it's a matter of when it will happen. Our walls are not strong enough for that many. We want to have control of it before that truck falls and be there to lead them away." He was then interrupted by Carter, "So then what are you proposing we do?" Rick noticed the attitude in his question and said, "We've thought of a plan, and very well thought out plan."

"It's going to be dangerous, but we have to do it to keep us and our families safe." Deanna said as she looked at everyone. "So what's the plan?" Aaron said. Rick nodded and said, "We need volunteers, people that are willing to step up and help us lead these things away from here. Like Deanna said it will be dangerous, but it's necessary."

"Abraham, Sasha and I will lead them away, we need two groups on the outskirts to make sure they stay together and everything goes smoothly. Rick will be leading one and Glenn and Michonne the other." Daryl said to the questioning eyes. Aaron piped up, "I'll do it." Daryl nodded at him as Heath, a black man with long dreads stepped up, "I will too." Rick nodded as well. Nicolas then, another man that Eve didn't know so well but knew there was something up with Glenn and him, stood up and looked at Glenn, "I wanna help too." After that even more Alexandrians volunteered. Rick said, "We're going to have to do this in the next few days, so everyone that is going, we need to get together tomorrow morning and go over the exact plan. We will then do a practice run of the plan just to make sure everything goes smoothly." Everyone agreed except for little noises of discontent coming from Carter's little clique. All the Alexandrians were almost gone and the rest of the group were talking amongst themselves. Rick said, "We're all in on this except Morgan, Carol, Rosita, Eugene, Maggie and Tara, right?" Everyone nodded. They had talked about who was going and who was staying long before they had the meeting with the others. Rick noticed Eve looking paler as the time went on, he was starting to get concerned about her. She was so quiet during the meeting, she didn't say one word. The others began to leave and Eve stood up from where she had been sitting and tipped over a little bit. Michonne caught her and said, "Eve, you ok?" Eve shook her head and said, "Must have just stood up too fast." Michonne looked at her concerned and Eve chuckled, "I'm fine I just feel a little tired. Rick didn't see that did he?"

"No but I'm going to tell him." Michonne said as she began to bring them over to Rick. Eve stopped her, "No Michonne, I'm fine, really I haven't eaten today and I haven't gotten much sleep, I'm fine and I don't want to bring any attention to this. I've had enough shit to deal with." Michonne looked at her and said, "Ok, we need to talk. Now. You're going to tell me what the hell is going on." Eve opened her mouth and Rick walked up, "You really don't look so good baby, you need to see Denise." Eve pushed both of them away and shouted, "I am fine! Jesus." And with that she stormed out of the front door and into the street. She knew people were staring at her and she didn't give two shits. Michonne and Rick looked at each other and Rick started to go after her and Michonne stopped him, "Let me talk to her." Rick shook his head and started again, "Rick, its ok." Rick nodded and looked really worried as Michonne went after Eve. Daryl walked up to Rick, "It's alright, she's going through some shit. She'll be ok."

"She sure as hell won't talk to me about it." Rick said as he walked away and out of the back door.


	19. Chapter 19

_Kinda short chapter again. I think it's a good one though, really shows Eve and Michonne's relationship which I think is an important one and will become even more important as the story unfolds. As will some others too. Please keep reading and please review! I would really appreciate it! Thanks!_

Eve stopped once she got to the gate and started climbing up the watch tower. Michonne ran up and Eve just kept going. She really didn't feel good but she didn't care she was sick of everyone questioning her and looking at her constantly. It was too much. She got to the top and slung her gun over her shoulder and aimed. She started firing and by the time Michonne got up to her she had already nailed at least 5 walkers. Michonne grabbed the gun and said, "What are you doing? You'll attract them from everywhere!" Eve put her hands to her face and sobbed. Michonne put the gun down gently and wrapped her arms around her friend, "Hey…its ok. Calm down." Michonne said gently. Eve grabbed on to her and tried to calm down. The more she cried, the sicker she felt. She lurched from Michonne's grasp and said, "Oh my god…" She threw her head over the tower and threw up the entire contents of her stomach. Michonne went to her and rubbed her back. Eve sat up and wiped her mouth and looked at her friend. "I know you don't want me to say this right now, but are you ok?" Eve shook her head, "I don't think so…" Eve turned around and sank against the wall of the tower. Michonne sat next to her, "It's more than just being sick though, right?"

"Yea…I don't know why I just threw up everywhere…maybe all this is affecting my health." Eve laughed through her tears. "What's going on?"

"I'm just…I feel like I don't fit in here. I feel like eyes are always on me." Eve said and then looked at Michonne, "Rick kissed Jessie. So there's that." Eve wiped more tears. Every time she said it out loud it broke her heart all over again. Michonne sighed deeply and said, "You know it was bullshit though right?" Eve stared ahead and pushed her dark hair out of her eyes, "I know. And I've tried to get past it I really have…I love him so much and it's so stupid I know…" Eve said as she started to cry again. Michonne put her arm around her and brought her in. "I think the thing that upsets me the most is that it's like once he thought I was dead…he just forgot about me. Like I never existed. He never left my thoughts, not for a second when I was alone out there…not at all." Michonne started patting her shoulder and then turned her face so they could see each other, "He never forgot about you Eve, are you kidding? He grieved for you until the moment you walked up that night. We couldn't even speak your name or he would lose it. He thought he lost you and Judy…he was a shell. We all thought he would never be the same, and he wasn't until you showed up that night." Eve put her hands to her face and Michonne said, "Eve, I know it hurts and I know it's hard…you were alone for so long. But we're all here and we love you and Rick loves you so much…I know you know that." Eve nodded and looked at Michonne, "I know he does." Eve looked around and then said, "God I've been so terrible…"

"No, you haven't. Don't be so hard on yourself. Feel the feelings you have, but don't shut us out. Don't shut Rick out. It's not worth it. You two deserve each other, you need each other." Michonne said as she held onto her friend. She knew what Eve was going through, that's why they had been so close. They knew what it felt like to have no one and nothing. The two friends looked at each other and held onto each other. Michonne pulled her in, "You'll get through this, and I know you will." Eve nodded and held onto her harder.

Later that night, Rick was at his house waiting and worrying about Eve. He didn't know where she was but he knew she was with Michonne and that made him worry a little less. Eve had been acting strange ever since he told her about Jessie, but it was more than that, he could tell. There was something going on with her more than that, there was something going on physically. He tried to stay calm, and take care of his children, although all he could think of was her. Judy was finally down and Carl was in his room and Rick was sitting on the small porch of his house, looking for any sign of her. He couldn't lose her, not again, not ever. He took a deep breath and wiped his face as he closed his eyes.

"Hey." He heard her voice say. He shot his eyes open and saw her standing in front of him. She looked totally disheveled and pale and miserable, but she still looked like the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He stood up quickly, "Hey." Eve came closer to him and he could see that she was shaking. He went to her and took her shaking hands in his. Tears fell down her cheeks as she held onto his hands, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Rick...you didn't deserve the way I treated you…"

"Eve…" Rick muttered and she stopped him, "I'm having a real problem being here…after being alone for so long, and the whole thing with Jessie and…"

"Eve it meant nothing please believe me…" Rick said pleading with her. She stopped him, "I know it didn't. I know. I think because of what I went through…I don't know. I am holding some weird resentment towards you…and I don't want to. I love you so much Rick. I love you more than anyone in my life." Eve started to cry and let go of his hands. Rick grabbed her and brought her in, "What do I need to do to make you believe me?" Eve shook her head, "Nothing. This is something I'm going to have to get over." They both looked at each other and Rick wiped some tears, "I love you. I love you so much." Rick looked at her with the most pitiful face she think she could have ever imagined in her life and she could feel her heart shatter all over again, "You're leaving me aren't you?"

"No…no baby I'm not leaving you." Eve said as she held his hands again. Rick looked down and she could tell that he was crying, she hated making him upset like this, he had been through so much. She wrapped her arms around him, "I'm so sorry for all of this…I'm so sorry. The last thing I want to do is upset you and that's exactly what I'm doing…"

"Eve, I love you I don't care. I just want to be with you and us to work on this together. I just want you Eve, that's all I want." Rick said as he leaned his forehead against hers. Eve nodded and kissed him, "It's just going to take me some time to get acclimated and normal…I'll get there but I can't promise things like today won't happen again…" Rick looked at her and put his hands through her hair sweetly, "I understand." Eve nodded and kissed him again. He grabbed onto her and buried his face in her hair. She wrapped her arms around him tighter. He looked down at her, "Can we talk about why you are looking so pale and I know you don't feel well…" Eve smiled and nodded, "I got sick earlier…I don't know…maybe I'm just tired and stressed out."

"Well if it keeps happening, please go see Denise. She may not be great but she's all that we have and I'm worried about you…" Rick said as he brushed some hair out of her face. Eve nodded and said, "I will. It's nothing though, don't worry."


	20. Chapter 20

A few days later the volunteers that were going on the mission to the quarry were all gathered together going over the plan. They were going to be doing a test run the next day and needed to get everything ironed out. Eve, Michonne, Heath, Nicolas, Glenn, Carter, and Rick with a few other Alexandrians were huddled together, they were the group headed on foot while Daryl, Abraham and Sasha traveled by car and Daryl's bike. Denise walked up to Eve and said, "Hey Eve, can I talk to you for a second?" Eve nodded and said, "Sure." Rick noticed this and looked at Eve, she smiled at him reassuringly and he continued what he was doing. Eve walked a little away with Denise, "What's up?"

"Oh I just need to get some of your blood. Remember? I think Deanna told you and Morgan when you first got here? I'm sorry it's taken so long but…I'm still getting a little acclimated since what happened to Pete…" Denise knew she was rambling and she was glad when Eve said, "Oh yeah, no problem. Do you need it right now?"

"Yes, if that's ok. I know you all are doing something but it will only take a second." Denise said. Eve nodded and said, "Yeah sure, let's just get it over with."

Eve sat in the infirmary, watching Denise get all of her tools together. Denise wiped her arm down and said, "Are you squeamish with needles?" Eve shook her head and Denise said, "Great." Denise was trying to find a vein when Jessie walked in. Eve felt that same sick feeling and looked away from her and Denise said, "Hey Jessie you need something?"

"Oh I was just coming by to get some allergy medicine for Sam. I'll wait." Jessie said staring Eve down, which was starting to piss Eve off. She told herself to breathe and ignore her. Denise went back to Eve and poked her with the needle. Eve jumped a little and watched her blood pour into the little vile. She decided to look away because she was getting a little dizzy which was odd, she had never had a reaction like that before. Denise removed the needle and placed a band aid on her wound and said, "You ok?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy." Eve said as she started to feel sick to her stomach. Denise looked at her closely, "You look pale. Sit here for a while before you get up. I'll get you some juice." Denise walked off with the blood and Eve smiled at her. Great, now she was alone with Jessie. They sat in silence for a while and Eve was not going to talk to her, no way in hell. Jessie stood there awkwardly. She finally said, "I know you don't like me." Eve scuffed, "It's that obvious?"

"Yeah pretty much." Jessie said as she continued to stand there. Eve continued to stare at the floor. Jessie then said, "It's ok. I get it." Ok, this was enough. Eve turned and stared her down, and she couldn't help feeling a little joy about how she backed up at the gesture. "You get it? What exactly do you get?"

"I get that you're threatened by me." Jessie said trying to sound like a bad ass. Eve stood up, not feeling dizzy anymore just extreme anger and walked over to her. She looked her directly in the eyes, Jessie backed up a little, "Don't fuck with me." Eve said slowly and deliberately. Jessie tried to stand her ground but it was obvious she was scared. Eve walked past and said back to her, "Tell Denise I don't need the juice." She walked out into the street and felt a little woozy again. She regained her composure as much as possible knowing Jessie was probably watching. She straightened up and took a deep breath. Daryl walked up, "Badass, you alright?" Eve steadied herself and held onto Daryl's shoulder, "I need to sit down." Daryl rushed her over to a nearby bench and sat her down looking very concerned, "What the hell is going on?"

"I just had my blood taken…think I stood up too quick or something…I'm ok." Eve said trying to regain focus. Her stomach was turning and she knew she was going to be sick. "You don't look so good…" Daryl said lifting her face up. Just then Eve swatted Daryl's hand away and leaned over and vomited in the grass next to them. Daryl looked around and didn't know what to do. He put his hand on her back, "Do I need to get Rick?" Eve shook her head, "No! No it's fine. I'm just having a weird reaction." Eve knew that wasn't true. There was definitely something wrong with her, she just didn't know what, but she was not going to get Rick upset after all the shit he was thinking about for tomorrow. Daryl shook his head, "I don't know, you look like shit." Eve sat back up and wiped her mouth, "Thanks a lot." Daryl sat next to her, "Something is going on." Eve shook her head, "Daryl I'm fine, I feel much better now. I just got up too fast after the needle and then I got dizzy and threw up." Daryl didn't believe her but he wasn't going to argue with her. "You're gonna tell Rick right?" Eve smiled and nodded, "Yeah I'll tell him…after tomorrow." Daryl huffed and Eve said, "He's got too much going on. I'm fine I am. I'll talk to him after."

"You probably shouldn't go tomorrow Eve, you could get really hurt if you're sick or dizzy…" Daryl said seriously. He was right about that. She straightened up, "If I feel bad, I won't go." Daryl shook his head again, "Fine. But you better tell Rick or I will." Daryl then got up and started walking to his house. Eve sat there a while and tried to calm down. What was going on with her? At first she thought it was stress, but she knew now something was not right. She didn't feel normal, she didn't feel normal at all.

That night, Rick and Eve were sitting on the couch together, both exhausted after a long day. Eve still felt pretty bad and knew Rick was picking up on it. She didn't eat much at dinner and she knew she looked like shit. Carl had even mentioned it. Rick looked over at her and just stared at her. She knew exactly why he was doing this, he was trying to get her to talk to him without asking questions all the time. She couldn't help but giggle and Rick got closer to her with a little smile of his face and started kissing her. She reciprocated and got on top of him, putting her legs on each side of his legs. Rick began touching her in all the right ways and she moaned. He abruptly stopped and put his hands on each side of her face and stared at her. She stared back and knew she had to tell him. "I don't think I should go tomorrow." Eve said quietly. Rick nodded and said, "I don't think you should either." Eve nodded against his hands and moved her face to kiss one and he stroked the other side. "There's something wrong. I don't feel right. I didn't want to worry you but now it's starting to worry me. I thought it would go away but it hasn't and…" Rick then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and said into her hair, "Thank you for telling me." Eve nodded and snuggled into him further, this was as good as she had felt all day. Rick then brought her face to his, "You need to see Denise. First thing in the morning."

"I will." Eve said and then, "I don't like you doing this without me tomorrow…it scares me. What if something happens…?"

"If something happens we'll deal with it." Rick said bringing her in more, "I will always come back to you no matter what. You don't have to be scared about that." Eve nodded against his chest and tried to not think about what could possibly happen. She reached up and brought his lips onto hers again and pushed him underneath her. Rick smiled and chuckled against her lips, "You feel up for it?"

"I feel better than I have all day, don't want to waste it." Eve said as she reached into his pants. Rick gasped and then grabbed her and lifted her up with him, Eve put her legs around his waist as they made their way to the bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning Rick woke up to the sun shining on his face. He yawned and felt Eve move a little against his chest. He looked down at her sleeping face and just fell in love with her all over again. He was so concerned about her but was trying to back off and let her take the reins and it seemed to be working. She seemed to be opening up to him more without him pushing. He gently moved some hair out of her face and she smiled slightly in her sleep. He needed to get with the others because they were planning on leaving soon, but he just wanted to spend a few more seconds like this with her. Her beautiful face was still pale, but she was still the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and moved her gently over, trying very hard not to wake her. He knew she needed the rest. He smiled at her and kissed her again gently before he started putting his clothes on. He grabbed his watch out of the glass dish he kept that and his wedding ring in. He looked at the wedding ring and then looked at Eve, who was now lightly snoring. He picked it up and fiddled with it, and then put it back into the dish. He put his belt and gun around his waist and tip toed out, shutting the door behind him. He then heard Judith whining and went into her room. She was standing up with tears running down her cheeks. When she saw him, she smiled and then started waving her arms furiously, starting to get a little agitated. He laughed as he picked her up and she whined, "Not this morning, Daddy is on Judy duty…Eve needs sleep honey." Judith looked around while big tears fell and said, "Mama? Mama?" Rick stopped and stared at her. This was her first word. She was calling Eve Mama. Rick held her closer and said, "Mama Judy?"

"Mama!" She whined. Rick got a little emotional and looked down at her while he started changing her diaper, "Very good Judy. Mama is sleeping." He made a motion with his hands like he was sleeping and then started to snore which made her laugh. He laughed with her and then started saying, "Dada. Dada. I'm Dada." Rick was pointing to himself while he said it. Judy shook her head and said, "Mama." Rick laughed and picked her up as they headed downstairs.

Carl came downstairs and could hear Rick talking to Judy. He smiled and turned the corner to see the two of them. Rick trying to feed her and Judy shaking her head. When she saw Carl she squealed and Rick said, "Good morning son." Carl smiled as he kissed Judy's cheek, "Morning Dad, morning Judy. Where's Eve?" Judy piped up and said, "Mama!" Carl's mouth flew open and he went to her, "Judy you said you're first word!" Rick smiled and said, "She's been saying it all morning." Carl laughed and went to her, "Carl, can you say Carl?"

"Mama." Judy said as she blew her lips. Carl laughed and said, "Eve needs to see this Dad!" Rick was surprised Carl was taking this so well, considering Eve was not Judy's mother. He thought he would have a different reaction, but he was glad he was having the reaction he did. Rick smiled and put another spoon full into Judy's mouth and said, "She's sleeping. She hasn't been feeling great, so I wanted her to sleep as much as she could."

"Yeah, I noticed she didn't look so good last night…she's ok right?" Carl said with concern in his eyes. Rick patted him on the shoulder, "She'll be fine it's probably just a bug or something."

"She's not going on the mission to the quarry then right?" Carl asked as he bit into an apple. Rick shook his head, "No, we think its best she sit this one out." Carl nodded in agreement. Just then the door opened and in walked Daryl with his crossbow slung over his shoulder, "Hey Rick, you ready?" Rick nodded and got up and handed the food to Carl and Carl resumed feeding Judy. Daryl walked in and said, "Good morning." Carl said it back as Rick adjusted his gun on his belt. "How's Badass?"

"She's in bed." Rick said as he looked at Daryl, "She's gonna stay here."

"Oh, she still feeling shitty?" Daryl asked. Rick looked at him and then at Judy and back and Daryl said, "Sorry. Guess she told you what happened yesterday?" Rick stopped and narrowed his eyes, "What happened?" Daryl mentally kicked himself and looked at Carl and Judy then back at Rick. Rick led them into the living room, "What happened?"

"She was coming out of the infirmary, said she just got blood taken. She looked like she was about to pass out and I steadied her and got her to sit…then she puked all in the grass." Daryl said looking at Rick and trying to keep his voice down. Rick rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "She didn't tell me about that. She did tell me she hasn't been feeling right and she's seeing Denise first thing this morning…"

"What do you think it is? It's weird." Daryl said. Rick nodded his head, "It is. I'm trying to not bother her about it…hopefully Denise can figure it out."

"Are you gonna be ok to go on this today, I mean with your mind occupied it might not be a good idea. And if you wanna go with Badass we'll understand. We're covered." Daryl said. Rick shook his head, "If I did that she would get upset. I'll be alright, but we're all getting back here in one piece. I mean it, no mess ups."

"You said it boss." Daryl said as Eve turned the corner. Both men stopped and looked at her and she said, "Hey…what's going on?" Rick smiled at her and Daryl said hey as he left the room. "Hey baby, I thought you were sleeping." Rick wrapped her in his arms and Eve hugged and kissed him, "You shouldn't have let me sleep that late…where's Judy?"

"In the kitchen and fed." Rick smiled and then said, "She's been doing something I think you need to see too by the way." Eve looked at his smile and narrowed her eyes, "What?" Rick grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen. As soon as they entered Judy threw her arms out, knocking the spoon out of Carl's hand and exclaimed, "Mama!" Eve froze in her tracks and put her hands to her mouth and looked at Rick. He had the biggest smile on his face and he could see tears gathering in Eve's eyes. She went to Judy and picked her up, "Hey my girl!" Judy wrapped her little arms around Eve's neck and said, "Mama." Eve started to cry and Carl laughed. Eve was so stunned and happy she didn't know what to do and said, "Sweet girl, you said your first word!" Judy smiled and put her little hands on Eve's cheeks, "Mama." Eve nodded and put her forehead to Judy's, "Mama." Eve repeated back to her.

About an hour later everyone was getting ready to leave for the quarry. Eve couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu standing there watching Rick leave again. The last time he did come back, but she worried herself to death for 48 hours until he did. She hated this, but she knew he had to do it. Daryl walked up to Eve, "Hey Badass, you just get yourself fixed up and good to go ok? We'll take care of each other, don't you worry." Judy was in Eve's arms and she looked at Daryl and laid her head on Eve's chest and said, "Mama." Daryl got a big smile, probably the biggest one Eve had ever seen on him and said, "Well I'll be damned." Eve laughed and hugged Daryl, "Watch after him. Watch after yourself, you hear me?"

"Yes mam." Daryl said as he walked over to his bike. Michonne walked up and said, "You gonna be ok?"

"Don't worry about me just do what you need to do and get back here? Michonne, please watch his back he's got a lot on his mind and he may not be totally alert ok?" Eve said seriously, she could feel the stupid tears coming, she was crying so much lately, and tried to hold them in. Michonne nodded and said, "You know I will." Eve nodded and they hugged. Rick walked up then and Eve felt the tears come big time. Judy wiped at them which made Eve smile as Rick wrapped his arms around the both of them, "Don't cry. I'm coming back and everything is going to be ok. You go to Denise when we leave ok?" She saw that Rick had a little shake to his voice, he was worried about her. "Listen baby, don't worry about me. Focus out there and get this done and come back to me. To us." Eve said as she kissed him, "I love you so much." Rick kissed her back passionately and then kissed Judy, "I love you too." Abraham and Sasha got into the car and Daryl started his bike. Rick nodded to them and signaled up top to open the gates. He kissed her again and said quickly, "I love you." He then turned and went out with the others. Eve stood and watching as they all went out and the gate closed behind them.


	22. Chapter 22

Eve sat in the infirmary, waiting for Denise. She was doing something in the back and Eve fidgeted on the table, hoping no one would come in and see her there. She had left Judy with Carol while she did this. She was feeling better, but still not right. "So, what's going on Eve, what are your symptoms?"

"Oh…ugh. Well, I get dizzy a lot…which makes me sick. Sometimes I'm sick first then I get dizzy…you get the idea." Eve said and then continued, "Don't have much of an appetite because of the nausea and I've been told I look like shit…so…" Denise laughed and said, "I don't think you look like shit, just look like you don't feel good. Are you running any fever?" Denise started looking in her ears, her mouth, and her nose. She stuck a thermometer in her mouth and Eve shook her head no. Denis took it out of her mouth after a minute and then looked, "Nope. Totally normal." She looked at Eve and said, "Anything else?" Eve nodded slightly and then said, "This is weird…but I've been super emotional lately. Like I can cry at the drop of a hat." Denise pursed her lips and asked, "When was your last period?" Eve looked confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just a precaution. When was it?" Denise said again. "Um…I don't really remember it's been a while I guess I mean I had a small one a few weeks ago I just figured it was because of the lack of nutrition I was getting." Denise nodded, "Could be. Listen, I want to give you a pregnancy test." Eve's eyes got the size of quarters, "What? No, I'm not pregnant I can't be…" She started to panic and Denise held her hands, "Look, it's a precaution but from all your symptoms it could be a possibility."

"I can't be pregnant Denise." Eve said seriously. Denise tried to reassure her, "Look if you're having sex, yes you very well can be. But you might not be we just have to make sure."

"We're so careful though…" Eve said as she started replaying every time in her mind. She couldn't be pregnant, there's no way. What was she going to do? She started feeling sick again and Denise ran and got a trash can, which was very good since Eve threw up all in it. Eve wiped her mouth and Denise said, "Are you ok?"

"No I'm not." Eve said as she closed her eyes and tried to breathe. What the hell was she going to do?

Morgan was busy cutting some wood on a table saw for the reinforcements in the fence. It was a pretty hot day and he was sweating through his work shirt. He stopped for a minute to grab some water as Carol approached holding baby Judith. Morgan smiled at them and grabbed Judy's hand making her giggle. "How are you today little one?" Morgan cooed. Judy laughed in response and reached out for Morgan. He obliged and took her from Carol. Carol put her hands on her hips, "Have you seen Eve?" Carol asked seriously. Judy perked up and said, "Mama?" Morgan smiled big and looked at Carol, "Did you hear that?"

"Oh yeah, she's been saying it nonstop." Carol said smiling. Morgan laughed and then said, "No I haven't, thought she was with Denise at the infirmary." Carol nodded and then said, "Yeah she was but Denise said she left a while ago and I can't seem to find her. And this one wants her real bad." Carol said laughing at Judy. Judy said again, a little more deliberate, "Mama!" Morgan laughed and handed her back to Carol. "Alright I'll go find Mama, wanted to take a break anyway."

Morgan had been looking for Eve for a good thirty minutes, and he couldn't find her anywhere, which started to make him worried. He had pretty much checked everywhere she could be when he thought of the watch tower. There was one that he hadn't checked because it was never used and no one went up there because the structure wasn't as sound as the others. He had been working on making it sturdier during his carpentry duties. He started to climb up and could see some movement. He approached the top and saw her sitting in the corner with her knees pulled to her chest. She looked like she had been crying and had a vacant look in her eyes. Morgan went to her, "Eve? What's going on?" She just looked forward like she didn't even see Morgan there. He touched her arm and she jumped and looked at him. Her big green eyes filled with tears and she said, "Morgan, I'm pregnant." Morgan sat down and Eve threw her arms around him. He took her into his arms and softly patted her back, "It's gonna be ok darlin', it's gonna be ok." Eve sobbed and said, "It's not…it's a death sentence…and we have Judy, she's not even walking yet and oh God Rick is going to…"

"Rick will be ok. You both will be ok. It's not a death sentence…" Morgan said trying to reassure her, but he was very concerned. Child birth in this world could be a death sentence and he knew that was how Rick's wife had died. From what he had heard it was horrific. Eve said against his shoulder so quietly he barely heard it, "Rick doesn't need this…we don't need this." Morgan looked her in the eyes, "Everything happens like it's supposed to happen, I've told you that. You and Rick will be fine, and there will be another miracle made in this world of darkness and death." Eve touched her stomach and had a moment as she looked up at Morgan and slightly smiled. Morgan smiled back and said, "That's you and Rick in there. There's a precious life inside you Eve, don't take it for granted." Eve nodded slightly. She was still terrified and worried about how Rick would react, and she was also just worried in general for him, and also for her, Judy and Carl. She grabbed Morgan's hand and he squeezed back, "We need to get off of this thing…it's not the safest." Eve nodded as they made their way down to the ground. They stepped off the ladder and Eve hugged Morgan tight, "Thank you." Morgan hugged back and smiled, "Always. Now, let's get you to that little girl, she's been wondering where her mama is." Eve smiled big and said, "Isn't it amazing that she's calling me that…I can't even tell you how happy I was when she said it."

"How far you have come since we first met." Morgan said with a smile. Eve smiled back and was about to say something when they heard and saw the watch tower they were just in start to collapse. Eve ducked and rolled as quickly as she could to miss the falling tower. Morgan did the same. They waited until it looked clear and started hearing gun shots from the other towers. Morgan yelled, "Eve? You ok?"

"I'm ok." Eve shouted back as she got up and ran towards Morgan. "We need our weapons, now!" Eve ran toward the other tower and started climbing up. Just then someone pulled her down and she fell to the ground with a thud. Whoever this was grabbed her feet and drug her against the concrete and rocks of the ground. She could feel her face bleeding. She began to kick and reach for her machete. She heard whomever it was laugh at her and say, "I remember you, you killed my friends." Eve then flipped over to see a dirty man with a W on his forehead. She struggled but he had her pinned, "Too bad you're gonna die, such a pretty little thing." Eve tried with all of her might to get machete loose from her belt. The man got a large knife and was just about to slide it into her when a bullet went through his head and he fell to the ground. Eve stumbled up and Maggie shouted from above, "I got you! Heads up!" Eve looked up and Maggie dropped Eve's gun down to her, "Thanks Maggie!" She threw her gun over her shoulder and looked at what was happening. There were people screaming as these people with the W on their foreheads swarmed them, it was pandemonium. She saw Morgan taking some out next to her and her first thought was that she had to get to Judith and Carl. She took off to find for the house, running head first into three men with knives. "Hello there little lady." One of them seethed. She steadied herself and quickly threw her gun over her shoulder and grabbed her machete. She could see and hear people dying around her, and a loud car horn coming from outside of the gate, which looked to be damaged enough to let more of these people in and she knew walkers would be coming soon. The men snickered, "You're out numbered hun, might want to go quietly." Eve went for them taking one of their heads off with one cut. The other man reached for her and cut her wrist making her cry out as she stuck her machete in his stomach. The last man, looking frightened now came for her and Eve ducked away from him. He kept coming and she reared back putting her machete straight through the crown of his head. He sank to the ground and Eve took her machete out of his head pushing his corpse to the ground with her foot. She looked at her wrist that seemed to be bleeding a lot and ripped part of shirt and tied it quickly around it. She readied her gun this time and started running towards where Judy could be again. These people were ransacking houses and killing people in the process. Eve took out as many as she could with her gun, yelling to the survivors to get in their houses and stay there. A woman with the W on her forehead came out of nowhere with a machete towards Eve and she shot her right in the head. She continued trying to make it to the house. Spencer ran into her, "The gate it's damaged those things are going to get in." Eve stopped and tried to breathe, she felt faint again but pushed through it, "Get as many people as you can find to start trying to close it." Spencer nodded and started to run off, Eve yelled back, "Turn that horn off!" He nodded again and started running. Eve felt like she was going to pass out, she must have been losing too much blood. She looked at her wrist and saw she had bled through her bandage. Just then another one of them knocked her from behind, sending her face first into the ground. She flipped around as best she could with her gun pointed up and fired. Luckily, she hit the man in the face and he fell on top of her. She kicked him off and struggled to get back up. As she did a walker came for her gnashing its teeth. She got the butt of her gun and slammed it into the walker's head, liquefying it. She started to run again towards their house. She got to the front door opened it slamming it behind her and locked it. She called out, "Carl? Judy? Carol?" She didn't get response and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She tried Carl's door but it was locked or something was against it. She beat on it, "Carl! Open the door it's me!" Just then a man grabbed her from behind and threw her into the hallway. "Eve!" She heard Carl yell. She was really starting to lose consciousness and knew if she didn't get to Denise or didn't get herself up she would be dead. The man flipped her over and put his hands on her throat and began to squeeze. She kicked furiously and tried her best to get her machete. The man just kept squeezing harder and her eyes started to roll back. She heard a gunshot, and everything went black.


	23. Chapter 23

Eve's eyes fluttered open and all she could see was white. First she thought she must be dead, but then she heard a voice, a female voice say, "Here she comes." Eve squinted at the light and tried to focus. She started to move and felt strong hands hold onto her, "No mam, you stay still." She recognized that voice, it was Morgan's; she wasn't dead. She opened her eyes fully and looked around to see Denise, Carl and Morgan around her. She sighed and tried to sit up. "Eve, stay still you've been out for a couple of hours, you need to rest." Denise said giving her a serious look. Eve reached for her stomach and looked at Denise with desperation, "My…?"

"You're fine." Denise said, trying to be inconspicuous. Eve reached to her wrist and saw it was all stitched up. She felt things on her face and reached up to feel a bunch of bandages. "You got a pretty good shiner and some scrapes, but you're lucky, you should be fine, thanks to Carl here." Morgan said patting his shoulder. Eve immediately reached for Carl and he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, "Thank you Carl. Are you ok?" Carl nodded his head, "Eve, you're face…I'm sorry I should have been closer to you." Eve shook her head and said, "Are you crazy you saved my life!" Her voice was raspy and she knew there were bruises on her neck, she could feel them, she knew she probably looked a lot worse than she felt. She hugged Carl again, "You saved the day Carl. I love you." Carl nodded and said, "I love you too."

"Is Judy ok?" Eve said looking at all of them. "Yes, she's fine. She's with Tara." Denise said smiling. Eve laid back down and sighed, thanking God everyone was ok. She sat back up, making them all of them jump, "What about Rick and the others?" Eve tried to stand up. Morgan shoved her back down, "If you do that again, we're going to have to tie you down Eve." She looked frantically, "Has anyone heard from them at all? They were probably in the thick of that! What about the wall?"

"Calm down, Eve." Denise said as she steadied her, "You almost died. I'm serious. Rick is plenty capable and so are the others. We'll know when we know."

"Easy for you to say, Tara isn't out there in that!" Eve said through tears and a little angrier than intended. Denise just looked to the ground, and Eve put her fingers to her forehead, she had a splitting headache, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to yell at you…"

"It's ok." Denise said as she gave her small smile letting her know she understood. Carl took Eve's shaking hand, "Dad will be ok Eve, he always is." Eve nodded and tried to believe him. She just wanted Rick back.

Spencer stood at the gates at the ready. They had fixed them as much as possible and had killed off the last of the wolves. He had heard that some escaped, apparently Morgan had let them go. He huffed and readied his weapon. He saw someone way in the distance running as fast as they could towards the gates. He looked closer and saw that it was Rick. Maggie shouted over to him, "It's Rick! Open the gates!" Spencer huffed again and went over to the opening hearing Rick shout, "Open the gates!" Spencer opened them and Rick ran in, killing a few walkers along the way. Spencer shut the gates behind him and said, "What happened? Where is everyone else?" Rick was regaining his breath and looked at Spencer, "Things didn't go quite as planned." Spencer scoffed, "Well imagine that. Things didn't go as planned here either, we were attacked." Spencer started to walk away and Rick grabbed him, "What do you mean you were attacked? By who?"

"Crazy people with W's on their foreheads." Spencer said seriously, "Some people died Rick…they fucked up the gate they were ransacking the houses…" Rick didn't even wait for him to finish and started running towards his and Eve's house. Spencer shouted back, "Nice talk!" Rick could see all of the dead bodies of walkers on the road and people were picking up the dead Alexandrians to bury. He started running faster and busted into the house, "Eve? Carl?" He went from room to room and couldn't find them. He started to panic, it was the exact feeling he had at the prison when everything went to shit. He started muttering to himself, "No no no no no…" He ran out of the house and ran head first into Gabriel. Gabriel stopped him and Rick said, "Eve, where is she? Where are my children?" Gabriel could tell that he was completely distraught and put his hands on both his shoulders, "They're in the infirmary Rick." Rick got a look of relief on his face and ran towards the infirmary.

Carl had brought Judy to Eve and she was playing with her hair as Eve tried to rest. Morgan offered to take her so she could sleep, but she wanted her close, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She prayed and prayed that Rick and the others were ok and just wanted them back safe and sound. Just then the door flew open making Eve jump and Judy start to cry. Rick immediately went to them with tears in his eyes and grabbed onto them. Eve began to cry to and held onto him for dear life. Rick reared back and said, "Baby, what happened to you?" Eve shook her head, "It looks worse than it is." Rick touched her face and kissed her, then kissed Judy. He saw the terrible black eye and the black and blue marks on Eve's neck and said, "Please tell me the man that did this is dead."

"Thanks to Carl he is." Eve said as Carl walked in. Rick went to him and grabbed his son. "He saved my life Rick. I would be dead if it wasn't for him." Carl shook his head, "Pay back for saving mine." Eve smiled at him and Rick hugged him again. "I'm so glad everyone is ok…" Eve snuggled Judy closer. She put her head on Eve's chest and said, "Mama." Eve smiled at her and then remembered about the baby. She was going to have to tell Rick. "What happened to you Rick? Where are the others?" Rick and Carl walked over to them, "The semi that was holding all the walkers in fell…we had to continue the plan. There was a loud car horn, all the walkers got off track…I don't know where the others are…" Rick said as he sat next to Eve. She noticed his hand was bleeding pretty badly and said, "Rick your hand!" Rick looked at it and said, "Oh…I forgot about it. It's ok, I got attacked by the same people you all got attacked by. Took care of them though. Is the wall being repaired?" Eve shook her head and said, "Not so fast, you need Denise to look at that." She handed Judy over to Carl, to which she whined, and Rick said, "You don't need to get up, I'll get her." He kissed her and went into the other room to get Denise. Eve was so nervous about telling him about the pregnancy, and she didn't know quite how to do it. With everything going on it was terrible timing. She must have gotten lost in her own thoughts because Carl said, "Eve? You ok?"

"Yeah, why?" Eve said trying to act as normal as possible. Carl continued, "I told you I was going to take Judy home and you just sat there staring…you sure you're ok, I can get Denise?"

"No, I'm good, thanks Carl. Yeah, that's a good idea she needs to be put down. I can do it." Eve tried to get up again and Carl said, "Nope, you gotta stay right here until Denise says you can go." Eve smiled at him and hugged him and kissed Judy goodbye. Rick and Denise came back in and Rick sat next to Eve. She smiled at him and he grabbed her hand. Denise smiled at both of them and said, "I've had to stich the both of you up in less than 24 hours." Eve laughed and Rick said, "She stitched you up?"

"Yeah, my wrist. One of those assholes cut me." Eve said showing him her wound. "She lost a lot of blood on top of losing oxygen too…so you need to help me make sure she follows my orders, especially in her condition." Denise said as she started to stitch Rick up. Eve's eyes bugged out and Denise realized that she must not have told Rick, oh shit. Rick groaned at the pain in his hand and looked worried as he said, "What condition?" Denise looked over at Eve and Eve didn't know what to do, she had to tell him now apparently. Denise finished stitching him up and Rick said, "Eve, what condition?" Eve's eyes started to water and Denise disappeared into the back room. Rick went to her and put his hands on either side of her face seeing the tears pouring down her cheeks. "Eve, please talk to me you're scaring me."

"I'm pregnant Rick." Eve said as she looked at him with tears in her eyes. At first Rick just stared at her, and it seemed like an eternity. She couldn't read his expression until he got a look of utter terror. Eve grabbed his hands watching his injured one and said, "I know what you're thinking…and I've thought it too. We have Denise now and…I don't know what to say. I'm sorry this is happening and I don't know how it happened…I didn't plan it, I swear! But I'm terrified and I was going to tell you as soon as I could there's just so much going on and people dying..." Rick stopped her by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in. She grabbed onto him and sobbed into his neck. Rick just muttered against her ear, "You're pregnant..." Eve cried more and Rick let go and stood up suddenly. Eve looked at him, very confused and worried. Rick threw his hands in his hair and paced. Eve wiped her face, "Rick, calm down. Talk to me." He continued and Eve got up, even though she was not supposed to and fell, catching herself with her hands on the table next to her, and hurting her injured wrist in the process. Rick stopped and went to her picking her up, "Are you ok?" Eve nodded and pushed him away gently. She turned and started to try to walk out of the front door. Rick said, "What are you doing? You're not supposed to be walking."

"You obviously need some time alone or something…" Eve said as she opened the door, "I think I do too." She pushed the door to see Morgan standing there. He smiled, "What are you doing, get back in that bed."

"Morgan, can you please help me to the house?" Eve said, it was very straight forward and Morgan looked at Rick, who looked like he had seen a ghost and said, "Of course." Eve nodded and took Morgan's hand. Morgan put his arm around her, looking at Rick the whole time. She must have told him about the baby. Rick stepped toward them and said, "Eve…"

"Just take your time Rick. I'm fine." She said not even looking at him. Morgan could tell that she was having a really hard time walking, so he just reached under her and lifted her into his arms and carried her out, giving Rick a nasty look. Rick stood there and watched them leave.


	24. Chapter 24

Morgan carried Eve inside the house and took her up to Rick and her room. Judy was asleep and Carl was in his room. Morgan laid Eve down and said, "Get some rest."

"Thank you Morgan." Eve said as she curled into herself. Morgan sat next to her, "He'll be ok. He just needs the initial shock to blow over."

"So do I." Eve said quietly. "I know he's not happy about it…but I could have used maybe a little smile or something. I'm terrified and overwhelmed too."

"I know you are." Morgan said as he patted her lightly on the back. "It will all be better in the morning, you need to sleep now." Morgan got up and walked towards the door, "You need to take care of yourself Eve, you and that baby." Eve nodded to him as he walked out and closed the door behind him. Eve was so exhausted she just let sleep drift over her immediately.

Eve's dreams were riddled with walkers with their gnashing teeth, clawing and biting at her. She ran and ran as fast as she could away from them but everywhere she turned they were there. She reached down onto her stomach, feeling kicking but all she saw was blood. She screamed and screamed for help and no one came, just walkers getting closer and closer to her, when finally one reached out and took hold of her. It clawed into her stomach as she screamed and sunk onto the ground. She could hear herself screaming through her sleep, but couldn't wake up. She just kept feeling the teeth and the fingers of the walkers clawing and biting into her flesh. All of the sudden she heard someone saying, "Eve, Eve, wake up." She jolted upright, with wild eyes and noticed she was in her now dark room. She was trembling and could feel the cold sweat on her forehead. She felt warm arms go around her, "It's ok…it was just a dream." She felt the tears come as she continued to see those images in her mind. Rick pulled her closer and began to gently pet her hair and rock her slowly. She seemed to calm down a little after that but was still trembling and he could hear her quietly whimpering into his neck. Rick kept rocking her in his arms, "It's ok baby…" Eve began to calm down and started to wake up more and realize it had been a terrible nightmare. She reached to her stomach and took a deep breath. Rick put his hand on top of hers, "I'm so sorry." Eve looked at him through the darkness, "Ok." She said in a trembling voice. Rick put each hand on either side of her face, "I was scared…I am scared. With what happened with Lori…I can't let that happen to you. I reacted and it wasn't right…I just…I panicked."

"How do you think I feel?" Eve said as she looked at him and wiped tears off her cheeks, "It's my body Rick…it's my living or dying…"

"You will not die." Rick said looking at her deliberately. Eve looked down, "I was scared of this before everything happened…scared of being a mother and scared of giving birth. Now I'm doing it with a doctor that is ill equipped and…shit I don't know." Eve said as she laid down. Rick went to her and pulled her back in, "You are a fantastic mother, Eve…you know that." Eve looked over at him and he could tell that she was on the verge of tears again, her lower lip quivered, "I just wish it wasn't like this…I wish we were normal and lived in a normal world and could celebrate this baby because it's you and I. I found you and now I'm having a baby with you…and we can't be happy. It's not fair." Rick brushed some hair out of her face and captured her mouth. When they broke off he said against her lips, "We can be happy. I am happy." He moved his hand to her belly again, "We'll figure it out…it's scary but it's amazing too." Eve whimpered and nuzzled into his neck. Rick held onto her tighter and stroked her back, "I love you and I love our family and we will make this work…" Eve nodded against his chest and Rick stopped and thought for a moment, was he really about to do this? He had been thinking about it for weeks but kept putting it off, either because he was scared or worried about what she would say. He knew it wasn't the best circumstances and everything wasn't the way he pictured or wanted it to be, but he knew right then in that second he had to do it. "Eve." Rick said as he pulled her face up to meet his, "I have to ask you something." Eve sniffled and looked at him, "What is it?" Rick put both hands on either side of her face and wiped some tears away, "It's bad timing, but I have to do it now."

"Rick, what is it? You're freaking me out…" Eve whined with big eyes. He laughed and kissed her, "I love you."

"I love you too…" Eve said still looking at him with trepidation. Rick pushed them both up to sitting positions on the bed, he took her hands in his and kissed them, kissing the wound on her wrist. Eve just kept staring at him and he looked into her eyes, "I don't know how I lived as long as I did without you. Even with Lori…I never felt like this, like I do when I'm with you. When she died I thought that part of my life was over but you walked into my life…I remember the first time I saw you, lying in that bed, injured, and you tried to punch me…" Eve laughed and Rick did as well and then continued, "I knew I loved you even then." Eve could feel the tears coming down her cheeks, "Me too." Rick smiled and then kissed her again. He stopped and squeezed her hands, "I want to be with you forever…Please marry me Eve." Eve broke down and smiled through her tears. Rick continued, "I wish we could have a real wedding and an engagement like you deserve…but we can get Gabriel to marry us….and we can…" Before he got the rest of what he was going to say out, she kissed him passionately and wrapped her arms around him. Once they broke off, Rick said against her mouth, "Is that a yes?"

"Of course I will marry you." Eve said as she kissed him again. Rick smiled his gorgeous big smile and Eve wrapped her arms around him again.

The next day, Rick was outside by the watch towers fixing the broken fence from the attack the day before. He was trying to be careful with his injured hand. Every now and then he would hit it, not paying attention and cringe. Eve was up in the watch tower, even though Rick wasn't happy about it, but Eve put up a fight: and she was right. Rick couldn't coddle her every second of every day. If this was going to work he was going to have to let go a little. Plus, with Glenn being one of the missing along with the others, Maggie was in no shape to be up there. Eve watched for any sign of the others, wishing and praying that they would show up at any moment. The thought of them not showing up, made her sick to her stomach. She thought of Michonne and Daryl and Glenn and felt a few hot tears escape from her eyes.

Morgan walked up to Rick and said, "Need a hand?" Rick turned and looked at him, "Sure." Morgan nodded and started to help. He looked up and saw Eve standing in the watch tower with her back turned to them, "She alright?"

"She's good." Rick said as he continued to work. Morgan took a breath, "I know you don't like me interfering Rick…"

"Morgan, its fine." Rick said as he looked at him and squinted his eyes in the sun. Morgan looked at him and nodded, "I just…I feel protective of that girl…after losing my boy and…well you know the story." Rick nodded and clinched his jaw, "I understand." Morgan made a slight smile and Rick continued, "You don't have to worry about her. I love her and will always protect her." Morgan smiled again and nodded, getting back to work. Eve turned around to check on Rick and saw Morgan down there with him helping. She smiled and Rick looked up at her. He shaded his face with his hand and smiled the big grin that she loved so much at her. She smiled back and turned around to keep watch again, she felt like she had to keep her eyes peeled constantly, just waiting for her family to return.

A few hours later, Rick climbed up the watch tower and saw Eve standing there, still at the ready. She hadn't moved in hours. He shook his head and said, "Hey." Eve jumped a little and said, "Hi." He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her from behind and she lowered her gun, closing her eyes, and enjoying feeling his arms around her. He kissed below her ear and said, "You've been up here a while…"

"Just waiting for everyone to come back." Eve said sadly. Rick turned her around and took the gun as he kissed her sweetly, "They will come back."

"Well, I'm staying up here until they do." Eve said as she took her gun back. Rick sighed, "Eve you can't stay up here all day and night…on your feet. You need to rest." Eve was going to argue, but she was really tired and she did feel a little nauseous, and she knew Rick was right. She gave the gun back and moved some hair out of her face. "You're right. Sorry." Eve rubbed her eyes, "I just can't stop thinking about where they are or if they're ok…" Rick nodded and pulled her into him. She grabbed onto him and nuzzled into his neck. Rick kissed her hair and said, "Please go eat something and get a little rest…I will be up here watching. I will tell you immediately if I see anything, I promise." Eve looked at him and kissed his cheek and nodded. He captured her mouth and said, "I love you." Eve smiled and kissed him back, "I love you too." Just then, Spencer, who was in the other tower next to them shouted, "Hey! Michonne and Heath! Open the gate!" Eve's eyes widened and Rick kissed her cheek and said, "Go." Eve jumped down and went down the watch tower steps as quickly as possible. She jumped to the ground and ran to the gate that was already being opened by Deanna. Michonne, Heath, and Aaron ran through the gate as they slammed and locked it behind them. Eve ran to Michonne and threw her arms around her. Michonne dropped her katana and gripped onto Eve. Eve was so emotional, more than usual because of the baby, she immediately started to cry. Michonne chuckled and said, "Alright blubber butt, its ok." Eve let go and playfully hit her on the arm, "You had me worried sick…" Michonne nodded and looked at Heath, who was looking back at her, Eve could tell their look was different than it usually was and she said, "What happened?" As she asked that she saw Aaron sink to the ground, obviously exhausted. She went to him, "Aaron!" He shook his head, "It's ok, I'm ok…just…exhausted."

"We lost some people…and I don't know where Nicolas and Glenn are…we got separated and overtaken by walkers." Michonne said gravely. Eve sat down next to Aaron and wiped tears, "You think Glenn's ok? He has to be ok right?"

"I hope so…" Michonne said as she picked up her katana from the ground. Michonne reached and grabbed Eve's hand to pull her up along with Aaron. Eve said in a low voice, "What about Daryl? Abraham and Sasha?" Eve's green eyes filled with tears as she thought about her friends. Especially Daryl. He was like the big brother she always wanted and loved him dearly. Michonne just shook her head and Aaron said, "They're smart. So is Glenn…they'll make it back."

Eve hugged her arms around herself as Michonne shook her head again and Maggie ran up. "What happened?" Maggie's ragged breaths were furious as she bent down and tried to regain herself. She looked wildly at each person, no one knew what to say or how to say it. They were dumbfounded. "Where's Glenn?" Maggie said again with more panic in her voice, "I said where is he!" Eve walked up to her slowly, putting her hand gently on Maggie's. Maggie shook her head and threw Eve's hand off, "What happened? Where is he?" She said through tears. Eve didn't take the shove personally, she knew how Maggie felt all too well. Eve looked at Michonne and said, "We lost him…we got separated." Maggie just looked like all of the life and air had been sucked out of her body. She wasn't making any sounds and tears just rolled down her cheeks. Eve went to her, "Maggie, he'll be ok. Glenn is smart and capable, he will come back."

"How do you know that?" Maggie said a little aggressively. Eve looked down and looked back up. The truth was she didn't know. None of them knew.


	25. Chapter 25

That night, after a long afternoon of being with Maggie, Eve was making her way back to her and Rick's house. She knew Maggie shouldn't be alone, and Carol had taken over after Eve left to Carol's request. Everyone now knew about Eve's condition now, and they were all treating her as such. It was frustrating but Eve knew they cared for her and her baby so she did not get defensive about it. On the short walk home, all Eve could think about was her lost friends. She prayed and hoped they were all ok and at any time they would open that gate and come through. She walked up the stairs to her front porch and Rick opened the door, he must have seen her coming through the front window. As soon as she saw him, tears came flooding out of her eyes and a small sob escaped her mouth. Rick immediately went to her and took her in his arms. He didn't say anything, he just held her. He started gently stroking her hair and pulled her in tighter, as if to protect her. Eve sobbed on his shoulder and held onto him harder. All that was going on, all that had happened in the last few days was just too much and she felt as if she was losing something or about to lose something.

Daryl had been trying to get back to Alexandria for twenty four hours. He had gotten separated from Abraham and Sasha when the herd went off course and had to flee. He had no idea where he was or how far away he was; he had spent all his time trying to get away from the herd. He was in the middle of the woods, on his bike and trying to be as quiet as possible. He knew the herd was not too far away and it would and could hear him at any moment. It was also getting dark and he knew he was going to have to find somewhere to hide out for the night. He stopped his bike quietly and steadied his cross bow and check every corner or walkers or anything else that could come after him. He decided to hide his bike under some branches that looked to have recently fallen off a nearby tree, just in case he had to make a quick exit. He briefly thought about climbing the tree next to him and stay the night up there in case the herd was to come back, but he decided against it and sat against the trunk. In the morning, he would get himself out of these woods, find Abraham and Sasha and make it back to Alexandria. He half smiled to himself; there was a time he hated Alexandria and wanted out, but it was his home now and his family was there. He leaned against the trunk of the old tree, crossbow in hand, and tried to relax. He knew he probably couldn't fall asleep because he was vulnerable but he was exhausted and could feel his eyelids getting heavy. The noises of the forest were putting him to sleep; the crickets chirping and the frog's croaks. It was so quiet and peaceful he was soon lulled to sleep, against his better judgement.

Running through the woods, hearing her heartbeat pounding in her ears, the sweat dripping down her neck and back. It was night and she couldn't see in the darkness, all she knew was to run. She couldn't hear the footsteps and voices behind her anymore which just made her run faster and faster. She wasn't even paying attention to the roamers that could be all around her in this dark landscape, she just knew she had to get far away, as far away as possible. She ran for another few miles she thought until she had to stop to breathe. She fell down against the jagged bark of a nearby tree and wiped sweat from her face. She looked around her surroundings with wild eyes and saw nothing. She leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes to control her breathing. She had a small burlap sack slung around her shoulder and grabbed into it for some much needed water. She took the water and drank from it, spilling it down her chest with shaky hands. She splashed some on her red and throbbing face from running. She tried to calm down and think of what to do next. She had left, and she had nowhere to go. She was scared but she was relieved, she had gotten away. She leaned back into the tree thinking of what to do next, she knew she couldn't or more so shouldn't continue on in the dark. She looked up and saw the large tree and was just about to climb up when she saw headlights, bright headlights, searing into the dark forest just about six feet from her. She panicked and started to immediately climb the tall tree trying to be as quiet as possible but she knew she was breathing erratically. Her foot slipped mid climb and she cried out as a jagged part of the tree ripped through her jeans. She felt the warm blood trickling down her leg and bit her lip trying to stay quiet, but she knew they had heard her. She knew they had found her. "Whitney…" A low male voice said slowly and tauntingly into the quiet night air. She knew that voice, it was Dwight. She tried to hide herself in the branches of the tree and stay as quiet as possible. "We've got you honey, just come on out and we can take you home." She put herself flush against the tree, she could see they had flashlights and were shining them her way.

"Whitney, don't make this harder than it has to be. He will always find you…you know that!" Dwight screamed out, obviously getting frustrated. Whitney winced and touched her small gun that was secured around her waist. She could try to shoot them if she could get a good look, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. It was dark, and she would give away her position, and what if she missed? She felt hot tears running down her cheeks, feeling like the only choice she had was to give up. "COME OUT NOW! I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU!" She heard Dwight's angry and deranged voice ring out. If she gave in, she would have to shoot herself, or get them to shoot her, she was not going back, and she'd rather die. Just then she heard a cry ring out and what sounded like a struggle. She wiped her eyes and peaked away from the branch as she saw the headlights receding as the truck screeched its tires and drove away hastily. She put her hand over her mouth to quiet her breathing, what was going on? Were the roamers out there? Was there something even worse? She heard the sounds of footsteps crunching the leaves on the ground. They seemed close and she knew whoever that was knew exactly where she was. She grabbed her gun and steadied it with shaky fingers as she looked furiously to see who or what it was that made Dwight and the others retreat. She then got a huge sense of dread. Whoever it was, they were capable of holding their own with Dwight and the others.

"Come out. I can see you." A rough southern drawl rang out from beneath her tree. She was shaking and could barely keep a grip on her gun, she needed to get it together. She wiped tears and kept trying to see who this was but it was too dark. She knew he was directly under her though and he probably had a weapon, why hadn't he shot her yet? Whitney breathed and said quietly, "I have a gun."

"I have a crossbow." The voice responded back. "And by the looks of it, I also have the upper hand."

"Please don't kill me." Whitney said, quietly and pleading.

"I'm not gonna kill you…just come down." The voice said again. She didn't have a choice, she had to come down. She wiped more tears and held onto her gun again as she slowly made her way down the tall tree and jumped to the ground with a thud. She immediately held her gun up to the ready and saw the tip on an arrow staring her right in the face. "Put the gun down." The man said, a little aggressively. Whitney shook her head, "Put the crossbow down…please." She heard the man chuckle a little and she still couldn't make out his face or body, it was just too dark. "What's so damn funny?" Whitney said a little too hastily.

"Please?" The man said in a low voice, "Ain't heard no body say please in this kind of situation."

"Look, I don't know what you want…I don't have anything…" Whitney said still clutching onto her gun.

"Did I say I wanted anything?" The man said.

"No…I guess you didn't." Whitney said, her words coming out shaky and incoherent.

"Then put the gun down." The man said again, this time a little nicer more patient, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Whitney took a deep breath and slowly put her gun down to her side and praying that arrow didn't go through her head. She still couldn't see him, but she could make out that he was tall and had brown hair falling in his face. He then put the crossbow down to his side, "Was that hard?" He said a little roughly, "I told you I wasn't gonna hurt you." Whitney nodded and now could see him better. He was wearing jeans and what looked like a leather biker jacket. His shoulder length hair was messy, but in a good way and it fell in his eyes. He shook his head to move it out of his eyes to get a better look at her. She was very petite and had chestnut brown hair that fell past her shoulders. She looked terrified, but he could tell that she was tough too. Her clothes were dirty but they didn't look worn, which meant she was taken care of. "Those guys after you?" Daryl drawled out. Whitney couldn't speak, she didn't know why, something about this man had her head swimming, she stammered, "Yes…yes they're after me…"

"Why is that?" Daryl said, this time looking directly in her eyes. He noticed how pretty she was, and he mostly noticed how scared she was, which made him mad at whoever those assholes were. This was something he would usually never get involved in, but when he saw her crying and shaking in that tree while those men called out to her, he knew he had to do something. Whitney shook her head and looked down, "They...they're trying to take me back…I ran away."

"Sounds like a bunch of bullshit." Daryl said as he slung his crossbow over his shoulder and started to walk away. Whitney caught up with him, "It is, it's a lot of bullshit." Daryl stopped and looked at her and smiled sideways, "You following me?"

"Uh…no." Whitney said as she looked at him. Daryl looked around and then down at her, she was a good few feet shorter than him. It was in the middle of the night, she was alone, and she only had a small gun to defend herself, she was obviously not well equipped, he couldn't just leave her to the elements, or to the walkers or worse to those men if they came back. He rolled his eyes and signaled with his hand, "C'mon then." Whitney followed behind him, not knowing if she should, but he did save her from Dwight and the others, and he sure as hell didn't have to. That was something wasn't it? They walked past a body of a man that she recognized as Pete, a guy from home, and watched as Daryl yanked his arrow out of the man's dead skull, saying, "Guessing you know him?" Whitney looked at Daryl and nodded. She wasn't fazed at all by this man's corpse. Daryl shook his head, and continued to walk. Whitney followed behind, "What's your name?"

"Daryl." He said as he kept walking. Whitney nodded and responded even though she wasn't asked, "I'm Whitney."

"I heard as much." Daryl said as he continued to walk. Whitney nodded again and adjusted her pack around her shoulder. She stopped suddenly and noticed he did as well, turning around to look at her, "Why did you do it? Why did you save me? You didn't have to…I'm glad you did…but why?"

"They seemed like dickheads." Daryl said as he looked at her again, making her loose her focus again. Whitney smiled slightly and nodded, "They are."

"Good thing I did it then." Daryl said as he turned and kept walking. They walked a little while longer and Whitney noticed a motorcycle hidden with branches. This made the jacket he was wearing make sense. He started to gather twigs and branches and Whitney just stood there watching him in a daze. He looked up, "You wanna help me or you just gonna stand there?" Whitney got out of her daze and quickly started gathering twigs and branches as well. "It's gonna start getting cold, we're gonna need a fire." Whitney nodded and for the first time noticed it was getting chilly. She pulled her shirt around her closer, and it didn't go unnoticed by Daryl. He shook his head to himself and rolled his eyes as he took off his jacket, "Here."

"Oh…no it's fine, I'm fine, you keep it." Whitney said shaking her head. Daryl shook his head back and nudged the jacket closer to her, "Take it." Whitney smiled at him, "Thank you." Daryl looked at her again and nodded and then went back to the task at hand. Whitney said again as she draped the leather jacket over her shoulders, "And thank you for saving me."

Daryl nodded as he gathered all the twigs and branches they had gathered and got his lighter out, trying to light them into a fire, "They'll come back though, what are you gonna do about that?" He looked up at her again and squinted his blue eyes from the growing flames. They could both see each other much better now. Daryl couldn't help but notice the way the yellow and orange flames reflected and danced in her sad eyes. She really was beautiful. Whitney shrugged her shoulders defeated, "I don't know…" Daryl took out a cigarette and lit it, as he blew out the smoke, "You might wanna think about it." Whitney looked down and nodded to him. He reached out to her with his pack of cigarettes, "Want one? You look like you need it." Whitney giggled sarcastically and nodded, "I would love one." Daryl smiled slightly and handed her the cigarette. She took it between her lips and he lit it for her. She blew the grey smoke out in one steady stream and smiled, "I have missed these." Daryl blew out his own smoke and nodded, "No smokes where you come from?"

"No, they're forbidden." Whitney said looking at the cigarette in her fingers. Daryl squinted his eyes again, "That's fucked up." Whitney couldn't help it, laughter burst out of her mouth so surprisingly she almost scared herself, she hadn't really laughed in a very long time. Daryl smiled as he took another drag. Why was it so easy to speak to this woman? He was not the warm and fuzzy type, he never had been, but he felt comfortable around this woman, he felt at ease, which was something for him. He settled down on his elbows and said, "So, what's your plan? You got one?"

"No…not really." Whitney said sobering at that. She did not have a plan. When she ran, all she knew was to get away and far away, not what she would do after. Daryl shook his head and put his cigarette out on the ground. Whitney looked at him, "Do you have a plan?" Daryl smirked at her, "My first plan is to wake up in the morning…after that…I gotta find some people."

"Some people?" Whitney said blowing out smoke again. Daryl knew he probably shouldn't be telling her all of this, and a few years earlier there would be no way in hell he would have even gotten into this situation. Since what happened with Beth, and also what had happened with Eve, he wanted to help people. He wanted to bring new people in Alexandria, even went as far to go along with Aaron to do just that. Since they all found out what happened at the quarry and the subsequent events after that, he had lost sight of what he was trying to do: help people. He took a deep breath, "It's a long story. Two of my friends are out here somewhere, I gotta find them." Whitney nodded and was so shocked that people in this new world still could have relationships and care for each other. She had been with the Saviors for years and years but never saw any of them as friends. How could she?

"I can help you find them." Whitney said as she looked Daryl right in the eyes. "I know it may not look like it, but I am a good shot and I can hold my own. I can help you. It's the least I could do."

"What makes you think I need help?" Daryl said looking back at her, not wavering. Whitney shook her head and didn't look away from his blue stare, "You're alone. I'm alone. Two is always better than one." Daryl smiled slightly and looked away, he could feel himself staring, which was unnerving to him, "I guess you're right."


	26. Chapter 26

_Hey guys! Here's another chapter, things are starting to get a little weird in Alexandria. Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! It helps me so much with writing and I really do appreciate it! Thanks in advance!_

The next morning, Rick woke up alone in bed. He knew it had to be early and almost jumped right up to look for Eve. He then noticed her standing by the window, fully dressed. He rubbed his temples and raised up. He put his pants on and walked over to her putting his hand on her shoulder and kissing below her ear tenderly. Eve jumped a little and said, "Sorry…didn't hear you behind me." Rick put his arms around her and she turned to look at him, "We have to go find them Rick." Rick closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers while gently shaking his head. Eve put her hands on each side of his face, "We have to."

"Eve, it's too dangerous and you know that…they will be back." Rick said looking at her seriously. Eve was about to respond but Rick interrupted her, "We have to protect what's here right now, and we have to repair the damage that has already been done."

"You can just leave them out there to die? Not even try?" Eve said moving away from him a bit.

"And not get you or any others killed? Yes, yes I would." Rick said trying to stay as calm as possible. Eve shook her head and was about to say something but stopped. She knew he was right to a certain extent, and she knew there was a definite possibility that one or more of them could die. She also knew she had a growing life inside of her and her life was more precious than before now, but it didn't make it any easier. It made it harder. She put her fingers through her long hair and down her face and shook her head, defeated. Rick walked to her, "Please just trust me." Eve looked at him with wide eyes and said, "Like you said last time right?" Rick backed away a little and looked like she had just stabbed him in the gut. She didn't know what made her say that and she immediately regretted it. Eve went to him and he shook his head as Eve said, "I don't know where that came from…Rick, I didn't mean that. Of course I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else." Rick nodded and looked down, "No…you're right I was wrong last time…" Eve tried to respond but he stopped her, "I'm not going to be wrong this time." With that he looked at her directly in the eyes as he reached down and put his shirt on and buttoned it, "What happened last time will not happen again Eve." He put his belt with his gun around his waist and walked out of the room.

Eve held Judith in her arms as she knocked on Carol's door. She was planning to head back to the watch tower for a few hours. Since their conversation that morning, Eve had not seen Rick but she knew where he was. He was with Morgan and a few other Alexandrians trying to fix the fence. She knew he probably was not too happy with her, and she did regret what she had said, but she did say it nonetheless and the fact was it was true, but that didn't mean it was Rick's fault. She looked down at Judy who was smiling up at her and smiled back, kissing her cheek. Judy giggled as Carol opened the door, "Hello you two."

"Hey Carol, sorry to bust in on you but could you look after Judy? Just for a couple of hours while I'm on watch?" Eve said, squinting her eyes in the sun. Carol smiled and looked around and said, "Yeah sure…could you come in for a minute though? I wanted to talk to you about something." Eve looked curious and then walked in saying, "Sure."

Eve walked into Carol's living room and gently put Judy down on the rug in the middle of the room. She looked up and put her arms up for her to take her again but Eve said, "Not right now honey, gotta talk to Carol for a minute." Judy shook her head and plopped down on the rug. Eve smiled and handed her a stuffed bear that Michonne had gotten her a while back. She hugged it tight and started to play. Carol came around behind Eve and said, "You want anything to drink?"

"Oh no, I'm fine." Eve said as she continued to look at Carol, "What's going on?" Carol nodded and they both sat down as Judith played innocently, saying incoherent little baby words. Eve and Carol looked at her and then Carol said, "It's about Morgan." Eve immediately sobered and her green eyes seemed to burn into Carol's eyes, "What about Morgan?"

"I think…I think he's hiding someone." Carol said looking at Eve very frankly. Eve looked at Carol again with serious eyes, "Hiding someone? What are you talking about?"

"When the wolves attacked us, he let some go." Carol continued. Eve then responded, "I heard as much…"

"But…he took one in Eve." Carol said being very deliberate. "He took one in and he's keeping him here." Eve just stared at her. Not knowing what to do or what to say or how to feel about this. She responded, "You know this for sure?"

"I've seen him…he's been going over to where the unfinished houses are…bringing food and other things…I don't know one hundred percent…but since the two of you are so close I thought I would tell you first. I didn't want him to get hurt if possible."

"Hurt?" Eve said questionably. Then she sobered, she knew what Carol meant. If the rest of the group found out they would have Morgan's head. Or they would banish him, which would be the best conclusion. Eve rubbed her hands on her face and shook her head, "So you don't know for sure though right?" Carol just looked at her and Eve knew the answer. Eve nodded and looked at Judith, "I'll take care of it." She stood up and leaned down to give Judy a kiss. Carol said, "I'm sorry…I know you're dealing with a lot right now…but like I said…"

"Morgan is family." Eve said very seriously, "I will take care of it."

"If you don't. I'm going to have to." Carol said looking at Eve very seriously. Eve didn't know exactly what that meant, but she knew Carol was ferocious and she meant what she said. Eve nodded and walked out the front door saying, "I will be back in a couple of hours."

Rick was working furiously at the gate, trying to repair it. Morgan was there too helping and Rick hadn't said two words to him. Morgan knew something was up, and he also realized that Eve wasn't at her usual place at the watch tower. He took a chance and said, "You ok Rick?" Rick stopped suddenly and looked up at Morgan and shook his head, "I'm fine."

"Alright, just making sure. You've been rather quiet." Morgan said as he handed him another 2x4. Rick nodded and replied with barely no emotion, "Just trying to get this done." Morgan smiled slightly and put his hands over his eyes to shield out the sun. He glanced up at the watch tower, "Eve feeling ok?"

"She's fine Morgan." Rick said rather aggressively. Morgan took that as a hint and kept his mouth shut. He didn't know what was going on but he had a feeling that the two might be having some trouble. He nodded and kept working.

Eve walked down the street to the part of Alexandria where the houses weren't finished, the part where Morgan was supposedly keeping someone sheltered. She got closer and stopped, she knew she should probably not go alone, but she couldn't risk getting Morgan in unnecessary trouble. She put her hand to her gun as she approached closer. Carol had told her exactly what house she had seen Morgan go in and out of, and as Eve got closer she prayed that Carol was wrong. She was just about to walk in when she heard, "Hey, what are you doing over here?" She jumped and turned to see Spencer standing there looking at her with a little grin on his face. Eve acted casual, she was a terrible liar, but she tried to be as convincing as possible. "Oh, yeah…just looking for Morgan I thought I saw him over here somewhere…"

"No one is over here." Spencer said suspiciously. Eve smiled casually, "Well then I guess I should look somewhere else then." Eve turned and started walking the other way. Spencer grabbed her arm kind of forcefully and said, "What are you really doing over here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Eve said yanking his hand off of her arm, "And don't ever touch me like that again."

"Sorry about that…" Spencer said still standing stationary, "No hard feelings."

"Yeah." Eve said as she started to walk away. Spencer called out, "Oh and to answer your question, I was following you." Eve stopped and turned to look at him to which he gave a smile. He walked closer to her, too close, "Is it true what people are saying?" Eve narrowed her eyes and took a step back as he gently put his hand on her stomach to which she quickly batted off, "Heard you're knocked up with that killer's baby." Eve pushed him back, making him laugh in a sarcastic and gross way. "Don't ever touch me again Spencer." Eve said looking at him directly in the eyes, "Stay away from me. I don't know what you think you're doing…"

"You gonna get your psycho boyfriend after me?" Spencer said moving close again. She pushed him back, "I mean it Spencer." Eve said getting her machete out from her belt, "Stay away from me." Spencer put up his hands and laughed, "No need to get weapons out. Maybe Rick is rubbing off on you...literally and figuratively it seems." Eve couldn't stand it anymore and pushed him against the siding of the house while putting her machete gently against his neck, "Stay. Away. From. Me." Spencer quickly backed down and said, "Fine, get that shit off my neck." Eve took a step back and turned and walked away from him. She couldn't help but notice her hands shaking and his low giggle as she walked further away.


	27. Chapter 27

_Another chapter! I used some dialogue from the show in this one, but I do not own anything from TWD! Please read, enjoy and review!_

Eve was in her own world, machete still clutched in her hand when she felt a light hand on her shoulder. She whipped around and it was Michonne standing there with wide eyes, "Hey, easy, what's going on?" Eve tried to stop her shaky hands and said, "Oh…nothing. I'm sorry I was in my own thoughts I guess." Michonne looked at her and could see her hands shaking wildly, and her breathing was erratic. "Hey, are you sure you're ok? You're shaking." Eve looked at her hands and tried to steady them, "It's…nothing…just Spencer and I…"

"Spencer and you what?" Michonne said getting closer to her. Eve was about to tell her when Morgan approached, "Hello ladies, good morning." Morgan immediately knew something was going on. Eve was shaking, but trying to hide it and Michonne was looking like she was about to kill someone. "What's going on?" Eve let out a fake chuckle, "Nothing…everything is fine."

"Everything is not fine. What happened with Spencer?" Michonne said seriously. Morgan perked up and looked at Michonne, "Spencer?"

"He…he was being a little aggressive with me…" Eve said trying to steady her voice. Michonne looked at Morgan and then back at Eve, "Like how?"

"He was following me. Said a few stupid things, that's it." Eve said trying to smile at them genuinely. Morgan shook his head, "Following you?"

"Yeah…you know I think he might have a little crush on me or something. Its fine you guys." Eve said trying to figure out a way to get out of this. She didn't want to tell them that she felt sincerely threatened by Deanna's son and almost killed him. She really didn't want to tell Morgan, and she for sure did not want Rick to find out. Michonne looked down and saw the machete gripped firmly in her hand. She noticed that Morgan saw it too and they both looked at each other. Morgan nodded and said, "It's ok Michonne, if something happened Eve would tell us. Right Eve?" She smiled and nodded and Michonne nodded back. "I don't like that kid. I know he's Deanna's son but there is something about him I don't like…you said he was aggressive to you…"

"Michonne its fine." Eve said with pleading eyes to her friend. Michonne understood and said, "Ok." They all stood there a little longer, not knowing what to say and it was like having a huge elephant in the room. Michonne finally said, "Are you headed to watch?" Eve nodded her head and said, "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." Michonne nodded and looked at Morgan and then walked towards the front gate. Eve looked that way and saw Rick working diligently. She needed to see him and talk to him but if she did it now she knew he would know something was up. Morgan said low, "You sure you're ok?"

"I'm ok." Eve said nodding, "Nothing I can't handle." Morgan smiled and patted her on the back. He was about to walk away when Eve said, "Morgan."

"Yes?" He said turning to answer her. Eve walked over closer to him and looked him in the eyes, "We need to talk."

Whitney had been shocked at Daryl's tracking abilities, it was only early into the next morning and they had already found a truck and were headed towards these friends of his. Daryl was quiet and somewhat withdrawn, but Whitney felt safe with him and she knew that he appreciated her being there. She had saved his tail already a few times from the roamers, so she was proving herself to be pretty useful. She was constantly looking over her shoulder though, waiting for Dwight and the others to show up again. She didn't exactly know where she was though, but Daryl seemed to know, so she just followed along. "How do you know they'll be here?" Whitney said looking over at Daryl from the passenger's seat. Daryl kept his eyes on the road and said, "They'll be here." Whitney kind of smiled to herself, she hadn't know him that long, probably only about 24 hours, but he was always so sure of himself. That was comforting to her. Daryl stopped the truck and said, "Just wait here." Whitney grabbed her gun and said, "I can back you up…two is better than one remember?" Daryl tried to hide his smile and said, "Fine, c'mon."

They both climbed out of the truck and Daryl readied his crossbow as Whitney did the same with her gun. Daryl signaled for her to stay put and said, "Watch my back"

"Got it." Whitney said as she did exactly what he asked. He approached what looked like to be an office building and whistled. Whitney snickered a little at this, Daryl wasn't the whistling type. Right then a roamer from an alleyway came at Daryl in his blind spot. Whitney spit out, "Shit!" Daryl was taken by surprise and almost dropped his crossbow when Whitney came behind the decaying corpse and plunged her small knife right into its skull, it's now lifeless body falling to the ground. Daryl turned and their eyes met. He was about to say something when she said, "You're welcome." Daryl smiled at her, and she thought this was definitely the first full smile she had ever seen from him, and she liked it. She could feel her checks reddening a little as they continued to look at each other. "Well looky here." Whitney and Daryl both whipped around, weapons ready. "Whoa there you two don't shoot." Abraham said smiling at them with his hands up. Sasha had a huge grin on her face and said, "Told you he'd come." Abraham nodded, "You were right, shouldn't doubt the lady." Sasha smiled again and Whitney noticed the three of them approach each other and hug. Whitney wiped some sweat off her forehead and put her knife back in her belt. Abraham looked up, "And who is this?" Whitney was just about to say something when Daryl said, "Oh, right. She's…"

"We saw her save your redneck ass a minute ago. Seems like good people." Abraham walked up, towering greatly over Whitney's small frame. "Abraham." He said as he took her hand. She smiled slightly and said, "Whitney." Abraham looked at Daryl and Whitney, "I bet there's one hell of a story there. Let's get the tits outta here." With that he made his way to the truck. Sasha approached Whitney, "I'm Sasha." Whitney responded, "Whitney."

"Alright, enough nicey nicey, let's go!" Abraham shouted at them. Sasha went towards the truck and Whitney turned and looked at Daryl, not knowing is she was invited to join the rest of the journey. She braced herself to be turned away and let go to her own devices. Daryl looked at her and said casually, "What, are you waiting on a written invitation?" Whitney smiled and followed him to the truck with the others.

They had been driving for a while now, pretty much sitting in silence. Whitney didn't know where they were going and thought to herself that she should be a little more apprehensive; but what choice did she have? Where would she go? She would never go back to where she was and if she was alone she would surely die. Right now though she was focusing on her and Daryl's arms touching each other. They were all four crammed in the front of this truck, and she was next to him. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous around him, like a little school girl, which she thought was hilarious because Daryl was no school boy. Abraham had told them about finding a rocket launcher and he had put it in the back of the truck they were in. She liked Abraham and Sasha too, they were somewhat friendly and they seemed like good people. They were much different than what she was used to and she shuttered at the thought. Daryl noticed and looked over quickly while trying to keep his eyes on the road, "You alright?" He said quietly. She smiled and looked at him and nodded. "Uh oh, we got a problem." Abraham said as Daryl started to slow down. Whitney quickly glanced away from Daryl and saw what was happening. There was men, on bikes, about ten of them right in the middle of the road, as if they were waiting for them. Whitney started to panic, "Oh no…no no no no no…" Daryl stopped the truck and said, "Calm down."

"You know these douchebags Whitney?" Abraham said as he looked at her. She nodded fiercely, and noticed that tears were falling down her cheeks. Daryl reached for his crossbow and said, "Calm the hell down." He said to her quietly and comfortingly. "They're after me…they won't leave until they've killed all of you…" Whitney pleaded to Daryl, "Maybe if I turn myself over they'll leave you alone." Whitney said grabbing Daryl's hand. She just did it, she didn't know why and she didn't have time to think about why. He looked down at her hand in his and looked back up, "No way in hell that's happening." Before Whitney could respond, they all heard the guy at the front of the group say, "Won't you come on out? Join us in the road." They all sat there frozen and Whitney could feel the tears streaming down her checks, she looked over at Daryl, the look on his face was nothing short of total hate towards these men. Their hands were still entwined and Whitney squeezed it, knowing they were probably all going to die. She knew these guys and she knew what they were capable of, what the whole group was capable of.

"If you wanna resist…try something…that's your choice I guess." The older man continued. "But we will end your asses. Split you right in two. Straight through to the sinuses. Now, c'mon."

All four looked at each other and Abraham started to open his door as did Daryl. Whitney pleaded, "No, no please don't." Daryl looked at her and squeezed her hand in return one more time, reassuring her. She was still terrified but something about that made her feel a little more at ease. She nodded and followed Daryl out of the truck. Abraham and Sasha got out on the other side as well. "That's great. Doing well right out of the gate." The man said to the rest of his cohorts. "Now, step too. Hand over your weapons." He continued gesturing for them to do so.

"Why should we?" Daryl seethed. Whitney looked at him and the man continued, "Well, they're not yours."

"What?" Abraham said hatefully.

"See, your weapons, your truck, the fuel in your truck, if you got mints in your glove compartment, you got porn underneath the seat, change in the seats…hell the seats themselves. Your floor mats, your maps, little stash of emergency napkins you got there in the console…none of those things are yours."

"Whose are they?" Sasha responded with a little hiss. The man stepped up closer to them, "Your property now belongs to Negan. And so does that girl right there." He said pointing a gloved finger at Whitney. Her hands were shaking and she felt like all the color in her face flushed out of her body. "Oh and another thing, if you can get your hands on a tanker, your people our person wants to know." He approached Daryl, making Whitney back up behind him and said, "So let's get those side arms shall we? Right now." Daryl reached behind his back and took his gun out and handed it to the man, "Thank you." He said giving Daryl a little smile. He then went to Whitney, Sasha and Abraham and collected their weapons. "Who are you people?" Sasha said as he turned and walked back to his bike, "Oh, I get the curiosity. Why don't you tell them Whitney?" Whitney swallowed and looked at them as they looked at her, she was about to speak, "Cat must got her tongue. That's alright. We've got questions ourselves, and we'll be the ones asking them while we drive you back to whatever it is you call home. First though, your shit. Where you got that?"

"Yeah you just took it." Daryl said.

"C'mon, can we not? There's more, there's always more." He said as he turned around and looked at another biker, "T? Take my man to the back of the truck, start inside the back bumper and work your way to the front." T, a large man walked up to Daryl, pushing him to the back making Whitney move out of the way. "Oh Whitney, what will Negan have to say about this?"

"You don't have to do this, just take me and leave them alone." Whitney said spitting out her words. The man laughed, "You must be crazy girl, you brought us a feast." Whitney was about to retaliate when Abraham said gruffly, "Who's Negan?" The man pointed his gun directly at Abraham, "You see usually we introduce ourselves by just popping one of you right off the bat, but you seem like reasonable people. I told you not to ask any questions, and then what does this ginger do? So that's that. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me." With that he cocked his gun and aimed it towards Abraham. Sasha screamed, "Wait!" He stopped and Abraham turned and looked at Sasha. Whitney was staring at both of them and then at the biker man. "Wait." Whitney said deliberately, "You don't have to do this." The man took out another gun and pointed it towards Sasha too. Abraham looked at them both, "Shut up."

"Please don't do this." Whitney said again to the leader. He cocked both guns and then said, "I'm not gonna kill them." Whitney took a sigh of relief. "On the other hand…yes I am." Just then he put the two guns up again, but as soon as he did a huge fire explosion shot right in the middle of the gang, setting them all ablaze. Abraham, Whitney and Sasha all fell to the ground from the explosion. The group was entirely engulfed in flames, there was nothing left. Daryl turned the corner the rocket launcher over his shoulder. He brought it down and looked at the explosion. Whitney coughed and sputtered as she tried to stand. Sasha and Abraham coughed as well, and Whitney finally got to standing position. She turned and locked eyes with Daryl, seeing the weapon in his hand. She didn't know what came over her but she flew her arms around her, embracing him tight. At first, Daryl was shocked by the gesture, and a little uncomfortable, but after a second he put his free arm around her too. Abraham and Sasha watched from a small distance and Daryl let Whitney go. "That son of a bitch was stronger than he looked." Daryl turned around and they all saw the dead man lying on the ground. Whitney noticed Daryl was bleeding from his shoulder, "Did he cut you?" She said anxiously looking at his wound. Daryl shook her off a little, "Just a little bit." Whitney nodded and put her hands on her hips. Sasha patted Daryl on the back, "We'll get it fixed up when we get home." She said with a big smile on her face. Daryl nodded, "Yes mam."


	28. Chapter 28

_Hello again! Kind of a short chapter, but I needed to break it down a little. So much going on, and more to come. Again, please read and review! I LOVE reading reviews! Thanks so much!_

Michonne walked up to Rick, who was working so intently he didn't even notice her standing there for a good minute. He finally looked up and saw Michonne standing there with a very serious look in her eyes. "Yes?" Rick said wiping his forehead. Michonne took a step back and looked down and back up, like she was pondering whether to tell him something or not. "Michonne, what is it?" Rick said again in frustration. He was in a bad mood, maybe this wasn't the best time to talk to him, Michonne thought. She remembered she hadn't seen Rick and Eve together all day, which was very odd and unlike both of them; they must be having some sort of fight. Michonne shook her head, "Nothing." She took a breath and then started walking over to the watch tower. Rick wiped his face again, breathing heavy and decided to follow her. He reached out and stopped her, "What's going on?" Michonne shook her head and then looked up at the watch tower, this was awkward. "It's something Eve said…it didn't sit with me right." Rick squinted his eyes and looked at her to go on. She knew she shouldn't be running to tell Rick, but she had to do something. She saw the way Eve had looked and how her hands shook like branches in a thunder storm; she knew something was not right and whatever happened with Spencer scared the hell out of Eve. "I saw her earlier…she was upset. She was shaking…she could barely keep her hands still and she had her machete in her hand…she was scared." Rick got closer to her, "Scared of what?" Rick said deliberately. Michonne looked into his blue eyes and saw a fury in them that kinda scared her, "She said something about Spencer. Something about him following her? She shrugged it off when I questioned her…but I got a bad feeling. She said something briefly about him being aggressive with her?" Michonne tried to sound as calm as possible but the more she spoke the more she saw that fury in Rick's eyes turn to pure rage. He put his hand through his sweaty hair and said, "Where is she?"

"She was with Morgan…I don't know where they went." Michonne said, "Rick, listen, calm down. I don't know what happened and she said it was nothing she couldn't handle; but you know Eve…I know her too…and she was scared." Rick nodded and looked around, "I'm going to find her. Can you take my place here for a minute?" Michonne nodded and watched him walk off.

Eve and Morgan made their way back to the unfinished house Eve had tried to get to earlier. She still felt anxious from her earlier encounter with Spencer, and kept looking around to check if he was anywhere close. Even with Morgan there, she felt a huge uneasiness in her gut. They approached the front door and walked in. Eve got her machete out and held it firmly in her hand and Morgan said, "You don't need that."

"I'll decide." Eve said to him, "Take me to him." Morgan sighed and led her to the basement of the house. As they turned the corner, to Eve's horror, Carol was right. They was a man lying there, obviously wounded, but not fatally and she remembered him from the massacre with the wolves. She put her machete down to her hips and shook her head, "Oh Morgan…this is not ok." Morgan looked at her and then at the man, "He would have died Eve…he would have gotten eaten or worse than that. I don't know him. I don't know his story, but I didn't want him to die like that."

"Morgan he is dangerous. His whole group tried to kill all of us." Eve said with pleading eyes, trying to get him to understand. "If the others knew about this Morgan…"

"They don't need to know." Morgan said looking into her eyes, "As soon as he's able to get around, I'll take him somewhere safe and that will be it."

"Morgan you are putting everyone in danger!" Eve said a little too forcibly, she didn't mean to. She was so tired, and still thinking about what happened with Spencer, and Rick being upset with her and now this? Now she had to cover for him for this? Morgan looked down and took a minute before addressing her, "Listen to me. I did what I did because I am a human being that doesn't want to see another human being die. Yes, he was in a group that were not very good people…but they were people still! He is a person. Just like you and me." Morgan said looking at her. Eve watched as tears gathered in his eyes, "What if Eastman had killed me?"

"That's totally different…" Eve began but was quickly cut off by Morgan, "It's not Eve! I was a killer! I was a bad man…" Morgan stopped and put his hand to his face and then moved it away. "I changed. This man can change too."

"Some people can't change Morgan." Eve said as she took his hand gently, "Some people are just evil." Morgan gripped her hand and looked around. She walked closer to the man and noticed that he was indeed asleep because he hadn't moved since they walked in. His wound looked to be festering, and if that was the case he probably wouldn't live long anyway. She saw that Morgan had tied his hands together, but that was it. She looked up at Morgan, "I'm not going to ask you to kill him." Morgan looked relieved as Eve continued, "But I am going to ask you to get rid of him. Put him out there, give him some supplies but then it's up to him. It's up to him to survive." Eve sighed and continued, "Take him far away from here so he doesn't come back…there could be others Morgan." Morgan just stood there staring. Eve walked closer to him and grabbed his hand again, "I love you, and I know why you're doing this…but we just can't risk it. Not with my children, Morgan…please." Morgan looked at her in the eyes and smiled. She nodded and backed away, "A day, Morgan. I'll give you a day." Morgan nodded as she made her way to the stairs to walk out, "Carol knows. She's seen you go back and forth, she's not going to be as gracious as I am…please do this soon…I can't lose you." Morgan turned and looked at her and nodded. Eve nodded back and walked up the stairs to leave the house.

Eve walked out onto the street and up a few blocks, trying to make her way back to the watch tower. She had told Michonne she would be there soon and it had been a while and she knew she would be suspicious. She hated keeping secrets, she hated not being able to tell her best friend and mostly her fiancée, but she knew if she did, Morgan would be kicked out or worse and she couldn't risk that. She could not risk Morgan's life. She pushed her long hair over her shoulder, tucking her machete back into her belt. Just then she heard commotion, it sounded like the gates opening. She immediately took off running as fast as her legs could carry her. When she got there, she noticed that there was a big tanker truck right outside the gate that no one recognized. By this time of day the sun was starting to go down and she couldn't make out the figures in the front seat. She, along with Michonne closely by raised their weapons; Eve's gun, Michonne's katana. The truck stopped and the doors flew open and she saw Abraham, Sasha, Daryl and another figure emerge. She put her gun down tried to make out the fourth figure. As they got closer, she saw who it was. Eve dropped her gun to the ground, making a loud thud. Michonne quickly looked to her, "What? What's wrong?" Eve's eyes filled with tears and her hands went to her mouth, "Whitney?" Michonne heard her mutter. Soon, Michonne saw the woman that Eve was staring at stop in her tracks, "Eve?" Eve dropped her hands and took off towards this woman. The woman did the same and they embraced each other, like they hadn't seen each other in years. Michonne heard sobs escape their mouths as they clutched onto each other harder. Daryl smiled over at Michonne, "I think they know each other."


	29. Chapter 29

_I gotta say I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Much more to come! Please please please read and review! Thanks again and enjoy!_

"You're alive. You're alive." Eve said as she clutched Whitney's face in her hands, "What are you doing here?" Eve said laughing as the tears streamed down her face. She couldn't even begin to describe how happy she was. Whitney laughed as tears came down like rivers, "I never thought I would see you again…" Whitney said breathlessly. Eve took her into her arms again and Whitney held on even tighter. Abraham cleared his throat, "Would ya like to enlighten us Eve?"

"This is my cousin…my cousin Whitney." Eve said smiling wildly. Michonne put her katana down, she was flabbergasted; this was not something you see every day in this world. Most people's families were obliterated and never to be reunited again. Daryl smiled slightly, "Well hell, no wonder I liked you." He said pushing Whitney playfully, "C'mere Badass." Eve smiled wider and hugged Daryl with all her might. She had missed him so much. She looked at the four of them, "How did you find my cousin?"

"She kinda found us." Daryl said looking at Whitney. She smiled at him and hugged Eve again, "I can't believe it's you!" Eve laughed and held onto her tighter. Just then Rick walked up to see the others back and Eve holding onto a young woman and crying. He looked at all of them with confused eyes and Daryl cleared his throat as if to get Eve's attention. It didn't seem to faze her and she continued to hold onto Whitney and cry. Rick went over to them gently and touched Eve's shoulder, "Who is this?" Eve looked and saw it was Rick. He saw her green eyes, wet and big with tears, "My cousin. My cousin Whitney."

A few hours later, Whitney, Daryl, Rick, Michonne and Eve were sitting in Rick and Eve's living room. Rick wanted to know about what had happened and Daryl needed to tell him. Judy was in bed and Carl had met Whitney and then went his own way. Eve sat next to Whitney with Michonne and Daryl and Rick were seeming to have their own conversation on the other side of the room. Eve didn't care, she just wanted to be with her cousin. "Where have you been? What happened to your parents? To the rest of our family?" Eve tried to say as gently as possible. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from Whitney. Whitney took a deep breath and then looked at Eve, "You know what happened. Probably the same thing that happened to your parents." Eve looked down and Michonne reached over and squeezed her hand gently. "We stayed together as long as possible in Birmingham…until we got ambushed…at our house. I tried to get them to leave so many times, but they wouldn't do it. My dad just kept saying, if I'm going to die I'll die in my own home." Whitney wiped a tear, she hadn't thought about all of that for a while but being with Eve again was bringing things up. "After that, I went out on my own, I didn't have a choice." Eve nodded, the exact same thing had happened to her. "I was trying to get to Atlanta because everyone was saying that there was help there…and I knew you were there too." Whitney said. Eve nodded and Whitney continued, "After a while and a few people along the way, I found a group…a group that I thought would protect me…" Eve could see the look in Whitney's eyes and knew this was hard to talk about. Rick and Daryl walked over and sat down in front of them. Rick looked at Whitney, "Daryl told me there are people after you? The people on the bikes?" Eve looked at him and then at Daryl, "People on bikes?"

"It's ok Badass, I blew 'em up." Daryl said casually. Eve narrowed her eyes and Daryl responded, "Long story." Eve just nodded back and said, "People are after you?" Whitney took a deep breath and blew it out. Daryl then said, "She was hiding from them when I found her…they seemed to really want you back. Enough to send others after you." Daryl tried to say as gently as possible. He could tell Whitney's breathing had changed and she did not want to discuss this. "We have to know who they are. If they've come after you twice, they'll come after you again and now they are after us." Rick said too as calmly as possible. Whitney quietly said, "I'm sorry. I never meant to involve anyone else…"

"Whitney, you're family." Eve said as she grabbed her hand, "But we do need to know about these people. Rick's right they will be after us."

"Oh I know they will." Whitney said still looking at the ground. "Who is Negan?" Rick said deliberately. Eve didn't know what he was talking about, but figured it was something he and Daryl had spoken about earlier. Whitney shook her head, and Eve grabbed her hand, "It's ok."

"Negan is the leader of the Saviors." Whitney said as she looked at Rick and Daryl. "The Saviors." Michonne repeated under her breath, this was all sounding far too familiar. "The Saviors are the group that were after me, they're the group I ran away from…Negan…he's our…their leader." They all looked at her to go on, Eve giving an extra squeeze of encouragement. "Negan…he intimidates other groups…"

"Intimidates?" Rick said narrowing his eyes. Daryl replied, "We saw a bit of that on the road. The guy with the bike…he told us everything we had belonged to Negan. He wanted to come back to Alexandria…see what we have here."

"That's what they do. They force other groups to pledge allegiance…allegiance to Negan. Take their supplies, people…whatever they want. He takes over and in return he protects them." Whitney said flatly.

"Sounds like a real asshole." Daryl said. Whitney smiled at him, she needed that. He smiled back slightly and Eve immediately noticed and looked at both of them. Whitney took another breath, "But the groups…the groups he 'protects', he's not really protecting he's just taking. I've seen him take wives from husbands…" Eve replied, "What?"

"Everything is his, see." Whitney responded with force. "People are his. Women are his. That's his favorite." Whitney shuddered and the rest of them had a feeling of what was to come, "That's why I left, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out, and I was willing to die before I went back. I'm never going back." Daryl responded before Eve could get out what she was going to say, "You're not going back." Eve saw the two of them look at each other and she was shocked. She never saw Daryl like this, it was very new. Rick nodded to himself and said, "Ok. We've all had a long night. Whitney if you don't mind, can we discuss more tomorrow? For now, I think we all need some rest." Rick looked at Eve and she knew what he meant. She nodded too and Whitney said, "Sure, I can tell you whatever you need to know." They all stood except for Whitney and Eve. Michonne looked at Whitney, "It was nice to meet you. Don't worry you're safe here." Whitney smiled and her and nodded. Michonne hugged Eve and headed out the door. Daryl looked at Whitney briefly as did she and said, "See ya tomorrow."

"Thank you Daryl." Whitney said as they locked eyes. He nodded and headed out of the door too. Rick sighed and then said, "Well, I'll leave you to it, I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about."

"Thank you Rick. Thanks for taking me in." Whitney said to him and quickly got up and hugged him. Eve smiled and Rick nodded as he hugged her back, "Of course." Eve looked at Rick and said, "I'll be up in a minute." Rick nodded and headed up the stairs.

Whitney and Eve had talked for hours; about their family, what had happened after the dead became alive. Eve told her all about the prison and how she met the others and then what had happened when the governor attacked the prison and her meeting Morgan, and finally getting reunited with Rick and the others. Whitney told her about the Saviors and how she came to be part of their group. She kept quiet about some things, Eve knew, but ever since they were small Whitney told what she wanted at her own timing. Eve knew she would come around. They had cried, and they had laughed. Eve teased Whitney about her weird little relationship with a certain Daryl Dixon, which Whitney only blushed and shoo shooed off. It was three in the morning when Eve finally left Whitney comfortable in the downstairs guest room and made her way to bed. She opened the door as quietly as possible and saw Rick's sleeping form in their bed. She went to bathroom quietly and washed her face, brushed her teeth and changed. She entered their room again tip toeing to not wake him. She knew he was asleep because he was lightly snoring which made Eve smile a little. She crept into bed, his back was to her. She had missed him so much that day, they hardly hadn't seen each other at all, which was not in the norm. She knew he was probably still upset with her. He had a right to be and she wanted to make it right. She didn't like this distance between them. He had also welcomed her cousin with open arms and at that thought she sweetly wrapped her arms around him from behind and snuggled into his neck. He felt him stir a little but not fully wake up. She then got closer and kissed his neck and whispered, "I'm sorry." She buried her face into his neck and heard him sigh. She felt his hands in hers and she brought him closer, "I am so sorry Rick." She whispered again against his neck. He rolled over to face her and brought her in. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck again, kissing it sweetly. He reached up and brought her face to his lips and kissed her passionately. She threw her hands in his hair and reciprocated with more vigor. Damnit she had missed him. His hands roamed farther south and she smiled against his lips, "I love you." She said. He kissed her again rolling her over to get on top of her gently. He said against her mouth, "I love you." They began kissing furiously and Eve felt Rick pull her panties down and off. She moaned and smiled as she moved his underwear down with her small feet. Rick chuckled a little at that maneuver and she felt his hand cup her spot. She moaned and pushed her head back and up into the pillow as he kissed her neck. Their lips met again as she felt him gently enter her, making her head swim. She moaned against his mouth and he moved gently inside of her making her cry out softly. She grabbed into his back, her fingers sinking into his skin and she brought him deeper inside her. Rick moaned against her neck and then looked at her. Their eyes met and Eve muttered again breathlessly as he moved inside her, her hips meeting his, "I'm sorry." Rick smiled and kissed her then held his finger to her lips briefly before kissing her again.

It was around four thirty in the morning now and Eve and Rick were still awake, talking to each other. Eve was snuggled in his chest and Rick laid his head on hers. "You and Whitney must have had a lot to talk about." Rick said as he kissed the top of her head. She nodded against his chest and said, "I still can't believe it…" Rick smiled against her hair and pulled her in closer. "There's something she's not telling me though…about this Negan guy."

"What do you think it is?" Rick said. Eve shook her head and said, "I don't know…but whatever it is its bad because she is terrified of him." Rick moved her face to look at him, "Whatever it is we'll deal with it, and we'll deal with him and his…group. What kind of name is the Saviors…?" Rick smiled a quirky smile, he was trying to make her laugh which was appreciated. Eve giggled and said, "Who the hell knows."

"Why not the Redeemers?" Rick said smiling and Eve laughed out loud and rolled on top of him. "The Guardians." Eve said in a silly upscale British accent. Rick laughed and said in a deep scary voice, "The Defenders." Eve laughed again and nuzzled into his chin, kissing along his jawline. Rick smiled and brought her to his mouth again. He moved her hair out of her face and tucked the dark strand behind her ear, "I missed you today." Eve kissed his hand and said, "Me too." Rick could tell she was about to apologize again and said, "Don't say it again." Eve laughed and kissed him and said, "I really didn't mean what I said…you know that right?"

"Yes." Rick said, "Its ok." Eve nodded and then said, "I love you so much." Rick smiled again and took her mouth and then said, "I know you do." Eve laughed against his mouth and said, "Oh really?" she picked one of her eyebrows up and he giggled and said, "I know I'm pretty irresistible." Eve pushed him playfully and he grabbed her and rolled her over again, making her playfully scream.


	30. Chapter 30

_I'm back! Sorry for the delays! There has been so much going on! BUT I am back and have a lot of chapters to post. Hope you enjoy! Please like and review please please please! I get so inspired by all of you. Thanks so much, and again I do not own any of TWD!_

Whitney awoke to her own screams as she gasped and looked around the room she was in. She was sitting up in the bed, with sweat gathered on her hairline. She took a deep breath and wiped her forehead. It was another nightmare. She was used to them. She looked around and sighed, feeling relieved. She was in Eve and Rick's house, she was safe. She couldn't hear any movement in the house and looked at the clock sitting on the dresser of the room. It was six am. She pulled the covers off of her and stood up with shaky legs. She walked to the small bathroom inside her room and looked into the mirror. She looked gaunt and there were dark circles below her blue eyes, she was tired. She couldn't sleep right anymore, not since what had happened, and it was taking its toll. She sighed and said to herself, "You need to get it together. These people are going to help you. You are going to help them." She laughed a little at herself and then turned on the shower.

Whitney walked out onto the front porch of the cute little house that her cousin lived in and breathed in the fresh air. Still no one had emerged this morning in the house except for her, and she had gotten showered and dressed. She saw some people walking from house to house and looking at her a little side eyed. She did the same, she didn't know these people either, just a select few. She took a breath again, she needed to relax. These people weren't like the others, and her cousin was there, she was safe. She must have been lost in her own thoughts when she heard, "You're up early." She jumped and saw Daryl approaching, wearing a cut off shirt and jeans, his crossbow slung over his shoulder. She immediately smiled and nodded, "Yeah, couldn't sleep too well." Daryl walked up onto the porch so that they were a little closer. He noticed her hair was shiny and blew in the wind and she was wearing a clean button up shirt with jeans, he immediately thought she looked gorgeous, which made him nervous; and that was very unlike him. Whitney noticed how toned his arms were now that she could see them and he pushed his hair out of his eyes, making her able to see him so much clearer, she felt her cheeks go hot. She immediately tried to recover, "You're up pretty early too."

"Oh I always get up pretty early…" Daryl said squinted his eyes in the sun; she loved the way he did that. "They all still sleeping?" Daryl asked and he walked up the stairs closer to her. Why was he doing this? It was so unlike him, but he couldn't help himself. She smiled, "Yeah I kept Eve up pretty late last night…"

"Yeah Badass needs all the rest she can get nowadays." Daryl said sitting his crossbow on one of the chairs sitting on the porch. Whitney looked at him and said, "What?" He then realized Eve must not have told Whitney, probably with all the commotion she failed to mention it, and she definitely wasn't showing yet. Daryl smiled and shook his head, "Damnit…um, well she's got a bun in the oven." Whitney put her hand to her mouth and smiled wide, "Really?"

"Yep." Daryl said as he sat down in one of the empty chairs. Whitney followed and sat next to him, "That's amazing, I can't believe she didn't tell me!"

"They've only know a little while, maybe a couple of days or so?" Daryl said as he took out a cigarette and lit it. "Sorry you had to find out from my dumbass." Whitney laughed and shook her head, "No, thanks for telling me, I'm so glad you did." They looked at each other again and there was silence. Neither one of them could describe it but it was like everything just stopped and it was just the two of them. Whitney noticed at some point she must have reached for his hand, because she could feel it in hers. Daryl was so lost in the moment, he started to lean into her and she wasn't moving; what the hell was happening? Just then the front door opened and both of them stood up quickly, Daryl walking away from Whitney, which slightly hurt her feelings. "Good morning you two." Eve said as Judy cooed at both of them, Eve was holding her. Judy started to clap her hands and make funny noises as Daryl retreated down the stairs. Whitney just looked after him, confused. He said as he made his way to the bottom of the steps, "Tell Rick to find me when he's awake and ready, would ya Badass?" Eve nodded and looked at both of them, "Sure." Daryl nodded and walked away, disappearing down the street. Whitney turned and Eve was staring at her with a curious grin on her face as Judy blew her lips and said, "Mama!" Eve laughed and said to Whitney, "Want something to eat?" Whitney smiled at the both of them and nodded as she headed in.

Eve and Whitney had been sitting around the table talking and being entertained by Judy for about an hour. Whitney smiled as she said, "Feels like it used to a little bit."

"I know." Eve said smiling back. Whitney remembered what Daryl had told her and said, "So don't you want to tell me something?" Eve looked at her skeptically, obviously not knowing what she was talking about. Judy squealed as Whitney looked to Eve's stomach and widened her eyes. Eve gasped and put her hand over her mouth, "I totally forgot to tell you." Whitney giggled and grabbed her hand, "I'm so happy for you…its awesome, and Rick seems like a great guy." Eve smiled and wiped some food off of Judy's little mouth. "He is." Eve said as she looked back at Whitney. Whitney nodded and Eve said, "What was that I walked in on with Daryl?" Eve got up and started to clean some stuff up. Whitney shook her head and acted weird, "Nothing. We were just talking."

"Looked like you were about to kiss to me." Eve said looking at Whitney and smiling mischievously. Whitney put her face in her hands and said, "Eve stop it."

"What? I think it's awesome." Eve said and then turned toward Whitney, "He's a great person. I care about him a lot." Whitney nodded and said, "Well, by the way he ran off I think that tells just about everything I need to know…plus I…I just don't want to talk about this ok?"

"Fine." Eve said as she moved back to the table, "I'll keep my mouth shut." Rick walked in right after that and said, "How did you let me sleep this late?" He leaned down and kissed Eve lightly on the mouth and kissed Judy. He smiled at Whitney, "Good morning." She smiled back and said the same. He seemed much more cheerful than the previous night, which made Whitney giggle, she had a feeling why. "I couldn't wake you up, you were so peaceful." Eve said as she spooned some applesauce into Judith's mouth. He laughed and then said, "You should have given me Judy and you should have slept." Eve rolled her eyes playfully at Whitney and Rick said, "I saw that." Eve laughed and he came over and kissed her again. He sat next to her and took over Judy duty. Eve leaned in a kissed him lightly on the neck. "Daryl told me to tell you to come find him when you woke up." Eve said as she looked at Whitney. "Why?" Rick said as he kept his eyes on Judy, putting spoonfuls of food in her mouth. "I have no idea." Eve said as she smiled at Whitney. Rick turned and looked at both of them with confused eyes and Eve giggled. "Alrighty." Rick said as he resumed feeding Judy.

Eve and Rick were at the gates with Daryl and Michonne and others later that day. They were almost finished with repairing the fences and they were trying to get as many people on it at once to get the job done. Daryl kept looking around for something or someone and Eve noticed, "You looking for something Daryl?" Eve smiled innocently at him and he rolled his eyes. Michonne said, "Where's Whitney?" Daryl silently thanked her for asking and Eve could see him perk up and gave him a slight smile and then looked at Michonne while hammering some 2x4's together, "She's talking to Deanna." Michonne nodded and walked over to the other side of the saw horse. Eve finished up what she was doing and went to get another few 2x4's when she noticed Spencer walk by. She felt like ice was running down her back and almost dropped her boards. He looked at her, almost like he was testing her to do something, and she quickly turned and went back over to the others. Rick perked up and saw Spencer pass. He then remembered what Michonne had told him the day before. He looked over at him and then at Eve. She was working hard, maybe a little too hard. He gently took her hand and she smiled up at him. "Hey, let's take a break for a minute?" Rick said squeezing her hand in his. Michonne looked and saw Spencer had walked up just a minute ago a few feet away and knew exactly what Rick was going to do. She tried to seem as inconspicuous as possible. Rick and Eve walked a little ways away from the others, at least out of ear shot, "What's going on?" Eve said pushing back some of his sweaty curls that were falling on his forehead. He smiled at her and then said, "Did something happen with Spencer yesterday?" He immediately knew the answer because her eyes looked terrified and she stammered, "Michonne told you something didn't she?"

"She mentioned that something happened. That you were frightened." Rick said as he got closer to her and put his arm around her waist as if to protect her, "She was worried about you."

"I told her I could handle it." Eve said as she looked at him and then quickly looked down. Rick brought her face back to his, "Eve, tell me." Eve looked at him and grabbed his hand and pulled him over to an area that was farther away, "I don't want to cause any kind of problem…"

"Eve, what did he do?" Rick said seriously. He saw her hands were shaking and he put his in them to calm them down. He grabbed her then and pulled her into him and kissed her forehead, "It's ok, just tell me."

"He was following me." Eve said bluntly. "He was following me…he grabbed my arm at one point. I told him not to touch me…he then touched my stomach, made some remarks about you and the baby…and I put my machete to his throat." Eve looked up at Rick, her green eyes were big and serious. Rick's heart started to beat faster and he could feel it in his throat. He wanted to kill Spencer, right now, right there. Eve put her hands to each side of his face and his eyes finally settled on hers, "Calm down. It's ok. I scared him enough, he won't mess with me again." Rick shook his head and Eve pleaded, "Rick. He's Deanna's son. We have to be careful, I've already threatened him…hell I almost cut his throat. And what all happened with Pete…" Eve continued, "If she found out about what I did…"

"He threatened you." Rick said slowly, "You retaliated. She told me to kill Pete." Eve shook her head, "I know she did, but he is her son Rick. He was just taunting me…and he got aggressive and touched me and I reacted…I probably shouldn't have done it but it happened and Rick…I thought about killing him." Rick had never heard Eve speak like this before, at least not since the prison with the Governor. He looked into her eyes, "It's ok Eve…"

"He was talking about you and the baby….and something inside me just snapped." Eve took a deep breath. "But you didn't do it." Rick said calmly. Eve nodded and he brought her closer to kiss her lightly, "I'm going to be watching him. If he even looks at you the wrong way…"

"Rick." Eve said looking at him seriously. She knew Rick meant what he said, she knew he wanted to kill him, and she knew he would do it. "It will be ok. I'm just going to stay away from him. Please trust me."

"I trust you." Rick said kissing her again. Eve put her arms around him and he brought her in. She didn't tell him the part about how scared she was, and how deep down she knew if she hadn't had her machete, something bad might have happened. Something bad still could happen.

Just then Carl, with Judy in his arms, and Whitney by his side walked up to the two of them, embracing. Carl laughed and Whitney just shook her head, her cousin and Rick seemed to always have their hands all over each other. Eve turned to see them and Judy immediately started to whine with her arms outstretched to Eve. Eve smiled at them and took her from Carl, "She was yelling for you Eve." Carl said as he smiled at Eve. Rick quickly kissed Eve and Judy on the cheek and went to the others. She patted Carl on his shoulder, "Thanks for looking after her, I'll take over from here, you go help your dad." Carl nodded as he joined Rick and walked over to the others. Whitney looked over at the others and immediately noticed Daryl, he was looking at her and she quickly looked away. She did it as a reflex, but she still couldn't shake off what had happened that morning, and it made her nervous. Eve could tell something was up, "Hey, you ok?" Whitney nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Eve narrowed her eyes, not believing her, "Well, I'm going to get this one back to the house, you want to come along or hang out here?"

"I'd like to help if I can." Whitney said looking over quickly again. Eve nodded and said, "Go for it. I'll see you later." Whitney nodded and headed over to the rest of the group.


	31. Chapter 31

Whitney had been working with Michonne on a certain part of the fence for a few hours. Michonne had noticed how quiet she was, much different from her cousin. She saw a sadness in Whitney, that she hadn't really seen before and she knew there was much more to her story than met the eye. She also noticed the way her and Daryl seemed to be avoiding each other like the plague. It was odd because when she first arrived, they seemed to be close, even though they had just met. At first she thought that they had liked each other in more than a just friend's basis, but today they seemed awkward and distant. Michonne was never a gossip, but since this woman was her best friend's cousin, and since they had been working in silence, Michonne did something she normally would never do, she started a conversation. "So, how did the talk with Deanna go?" Michonne asked as she handed Whitney a hammer. Whitney seemed to be pushed back into reality from wherever her mind had been and said, "It was interesting." Michonne nodded and to her surprise Whitney continued, "I don't like to talk much…especially about myself. Some things are just…"

"Some things are just yours." Michonne said, totally understanding exactly what Whitney was trying to say. "I get it. I don't like to talk much either." Whitney stopped and smiled at Michonne, and once again Michonne saw that terrible sadness in her eyes. "Honestly, if it wasn't for your cousin…I don't know where I would be right now." Michonne said thoughtfully. "You all are so close. It's so different…so much different than what I…well just different." Whitney said as she paused and noticed Daryl's eyes on her from a few feet away. He was with Rick and Carl, and Whitney and he made eye contact once again. Whitney looked down quickly and Michonne couldn't help it and was surprised at herself, Eve must be rubbing off on her, "Is there something going on with him?"

"Who?" Whitney said quickly and started to hammer again. Michonne chuckled lowly under her breath, "Daryl." Whitney looked up at her and then shook her head vigorously, as if that would make it more true, "No…nothing is going on."

"Ok." Michonne said and continued, "You two just seem to be…I don't know the right word…weird?" Whitney couldn't help it, and she felt odd doing it, but she laughed and then Michonne laughed. They laughed a little bit longer and Michonne saw Daryl eyeing them. She shook her head, "Yeah, definitely weird."

"How so?" Whitney said. Michonne noticed the now slight smile on her face. Michonne took a breath, "Well, let's just say I've known him quite a while…and I have never seen him this interested in what anyone is doing. Ever." Whitney fought the urge to look over again. She sobered and shook her head, "I don't know." Michonne looked at Daryl again and then back at Whitney, "Listen, I know you didn't ask my advice, but I'm going to give to you since you're Eve's cousin and she knows this better than anyone else. If you want something, or you feel something, act on it. We don't know how much time we're all going to have left." Whitney and Michonne looked at each other for a brief moment and Michonne nodded as she continued to work again.

Later that night, they had all decided to call it a day and head back to their houses. Rick and Carl walked over to Whitney and Daryl was slightly behind them, looking wary. Whitney immediately noticed him, partly because she had been aware of his location throughout the entire day, but also because she wanted to talk to him. She was terrified, but she needed to do it. Something about what Michonne said stuck with her. "So, we headed home?" Rick said looking at Whitney and wiping sweat from his forehead. Whitney looked at Daryl, "You guys can go ahead, I'll be there in a second." Rick looked at Whitney and then at Daryl as Carl tried to hide a smile. Rick nodded, "Sounds good. See you later." Rick smiled at her and patted her sweetly on the shoulder as Carl followed. This was it, she was staring Daryl in the face, it was now or never. "Can we talk?" Whitney said and noticed how her voice sounded shaky and unsure. Daryl looked down and then said, "Sure I guess." Whitney nodded and was about to talk when Daryl said, "You wanna go to my house? Carol is there, but we can sit on the front porch." Whitney nodded gratefully and they made their way to his house.

The two of them sat there quietly, neither knowing what to say or how to say it. Daryl was nervous and he felt his heart beating inside his chest like it was going to explode through. He didn't remember the last time he felt this, probably never and he didn't know what to do. He felt awkward and stupid, like a teenager, and he could feel Whitney's presence next to him, her hands slightly shaking. He could smell her scent, her hair was blowing in the wind and he felt himself go a little dizzy. Is this what this is like? His thoughts just kept rolling around in his head, he felt drunk. He heard her breathe in and it sounded like she was about to say something but he couldn't let her, he couldn't let her until he did what he had to do. He whipped around to face her, her blue eyes were wide with shock and he put his hand gently on her face, as if he wasn't sure how to do this, and then leaned in and kissed her. Whitney's eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat but she quickly recovered and pulled him in closer, making the kiss deeper and needier. Soon, hands were roaming, hearts were pounding and they got lost in what they were doing. Whitney threw her arms around him and he grasped at her small waist. Whitney could hear herself panting between kisses and wanting him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Daryl touched her so gently and lovingly, so different than what she was used to. He broke away and leaned his forehead against hers. Whitney, eyes closed, wanted his lips back on hers so bad she thought she would scream until she heard him say gently, "Open your eyes." She didn't want to. She didn't want to open them and open up a possibility that this could all go away in a second. She shook her head and could feel tears brimming at the corners of her shut tight eyes. "Please." He said softly, and she could hear the smile in his words. She remembered when they had first met, not that long ago, and she had said please to him. She opened her eyes finally then and let out a small laugh as he reached up and wiped a few tears away. "See, not so bad huh?" Daryl said smiling sweetly at her. She nodded and put her hand to his face, "I want you to kiss me again. Right now." There was such need and desire in her eyes, Daryl felt a feeling so deep inside himself that it shook his very core. He took her by the hand, pressed a sweet kiss on her lips, and led her to the front door. He didn't know if this was ok or not, so he turned and looked at her. She saw the look in his eyes, and she just melted. He wasn't sure if this was ok, and her head was spinning as to what to do next, she had to push through, she needed to push through and most of all she wanted to push through; and she wanted to do it with him. She pushed him against the door and crashed her lips onto his again and he smiled as she said, "Open the door." He giggled against her mouth, which made her giggle back because Daryl didn't giggle, she knew that. She noticed how boyish and innocent his eyes had become and she just couldn't take it anymore. She jumped into his arms and he immediately grasped onto her as he fiddled with the door knob. His hands were trying to hold her and get the door at the same time, and Whitney could see him struggle, so she reached down and turned the knob letting the door open while never leaving his mouth. Daryl backed them quickly into the house and turned, still with her in his arms as they made their way to a room she assumed was his. She briefly remembered he said Carol lived there, but didn't think about it again because by the time she could they were already in his room with the door closing behind them. They were soon on his bed, his weight on top of her, his hands in her hair. Her head was spinning and she grabbed at his shirt and he lifted it over his head. Whitney started at his bare chest, and the scars he must have accumulated from his many battles. She ran her hands over them and he seemed to shy away a little looking down, embarrassed. She shook her head and steadied his face in her hands as they made eye contact, "You're perfect. Don't look away from me." She whispered to him. His face softened and he took her mouth again. She undid the first few buttons of her shirt and he undid the rest, pushing it gently off. He stared at her then and then kissed her neck, making his way down to her navel and the top of her jeans. She shivered, she had never been so turned on in her life. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, she could feel him undoing her jeans. "Open your eyes." She heard his voice say, full of lust and longing. She did as she was told and saw him looking down at her, "Is this ok? Are you sure you want to do this?" Daryl said, his voice still dark with lust but brimming on disappointment. She nodded and responded, "I want this." She saw him smile, relieved and she smiled back as he started pulling down her jeans.

Eve was wrenched from her sleep by her own screams. She was sitting up in bed, breathing heavily, she had had another nightmare. She looked around wildly and grasped at her stomach and had a sigh of relief. Rick was quickly by her side, taking her face in his hands, "It's ok…just a dream. Just a dream." He said softly as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. He brushed away the hair that was stuck to her forehead from her sweat and continued to coo to her reassuring words, and she felt her heart rate slow down. Finally, after a while, and he knew she was calming down he brought her face to his, "You haven't had one of those in a while, are you ok?" Eve nodded, and kissed him and said, "Yeah, I'm ok." Rick didn't believe her, but he knew Eve and whatever was going on in her head, she would eventually tell him. "Baby ok?" Rick said sweetly touching her belly, still flat, but was now a tiny bit rounder. Eve smiled at him and put her hand on top of his, "Right as rain." Rick smiled, showing his teeth and kissed her again. They heard Judy's cries, she had probably been woken up by Eve's screams, and Eve made her way to get up. Rick pushed her gently back down, "Not so fast. I'll take care of it. You stay here for a little while." Eve smiled and laid down as he put his pants and shirt on giving her a quick kiss before he walked out of the door.

It had been about an hour since Rick had gotten Judy, and he had already changed and fed her. She was fussy because Eve wasn't around but Rick managed. Usually Daryl would have come by by now, but he hadn't seen or heard from him since the evening before. He wondered if Whitney was in her room. He chuckled to himself and picked Judy up while Carl walked in. "Hey Dad." Carl said. Rick responded, "Hey son."

"We need to finish the last bit of the fence right?" Carl said, eating an apple. Rick nodded and looked at Judy, who smiled back at him and laid her head on his shoulder. Carl looked around, "Where's Eve?"

"She's sleeping." Rick said and noticed Carl's worried look, "She's fine, she just needs rest. I'm gonna go by Carol's and see if she can look after Judy while we're finishing up the fence." Carl nodded and said, "Ok." Rick picked up Judy's diaper bag and made sure she had what she needed and they both headed out the door.

Daryl's eyes sleepily opened and he yawned as he snuggled against the warmth that was next to him. He smiled and draped his arm gently around Whitney's sleeping body. She smiled in her sleep and rolled over to get closer to him. He kissed the top of her head sweetly. He looked over at the clock and couldn't believe he had slept this late, he couldn't remember the last time he did, and he had no desire to get up. Whitney's breath was steady and even as she slept and he watched her. Her long dark lashes splayed against her tan skin and he resisted the urge to kiss them; he didn't want to wake her. He also didn't remember the last time he felt this happy. He kept staring at her until she stirred and sleepily looked up at him, he felt a little nervous at first; she had caught him. Soon she smiled and yawned a little pulled him closer, "Hello." Daryl, relieved, smiled and nuzzled into her, "Hey." Whitney giggled and rolled on top of him and he laughed, "I know you were staring at me." Daryl's cheeks flushed and she took his mouth in a passionate kiss. He reciprocated and slid his hands down her sides. She moaned against his mouth, wanting him so badly again. The kisses got deeper and needier and soon Daryl had Whitney below him, looking down at her. He said in a whisper between kisses, "I was staring at you." Whitney opened her legs to him and he went inside her, making her gasp. He smiled against her neck as he gently rocked inside her. She gasped again in pleasure and heard him moan, which made her almost come. She reached up and put her hands in his hair and he went deeper inside her, making them both groan. They were both almost there when they heard knocks on the front door. Daryl shook his head against her wildly, his hair tickling her face and neck, and she gasped again as he went faster. Daryl picked up his pace even more, and Whitney felt her legs shaking uncontrollably. They stared at each other, hearing the door again but not stopping, and they came so hard that they thought their hearts were going to stop. Daryl, still inside her, pulled her in and kissed her fiercely. They were panting and shaking and totally lost in each other. The door was now being pounded. Daryl's eyes narrowed and he yelled, exasperated and pissed, "WHAT?" Whitney laughed and put her hand over his mouth. He rolled off of her and she took her hand off his mouth and he exclaimed, "I mean, what the hell?" Whitney laughed again and they heard Rick's voice, "Daryl? Open the door." Daryl rolled his eyes, "Shit." He kissed Whitney again and quickly got up, Whitney smiled at his nakedness, and he quickly got his pants and shirt on, looking very disheveled. Whitney giggled and he turned, "What you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Whitney said looking at him with love in her eyes. Daryl nodded and did that side smile at her and said, "I'll be right back, don't move."

"Yes, sir." Whitney said smiling and laying down. Daryl smiled at her again and walked out. He was going to kill Rick, this better be good. He flung the front door open, making Rick and Carl jump and Judy laugh and clap. Rick then looked at his disheveled appearance; Daryl was never a sharp dresser but he was usually put together more than this, and his hair was out of control. Carl laughed and Judy did the same. Rick kept his laugh to himself the best he could, "Did we wake you up?"

"Yeah, actually you did." Daryl said a little forcefully. He noticed them all giggling, "What the hell is so funny?" Carl laughed a little louder and Rick gently nudged him, "Nothing. Is Carol here?"

"Obviously not or she would have answered the door." Daryl said backing up a little and them walking inside, which made Daryl roll his eyes. "Oh…well, I was trying to see if she would watch after Judy, we have to finish up the last of the fence, remember?"

"Oh hell, I forgot." Daryl said putting his hands through his hair, somewhat taming it. "Where's Badass at?"

"She's sleeping." Rick said. Carl responded, "Apparently, that's going around." Daryl warned him with a look and Rick nudged him again. Judy reached for Daryl and he took her. "Ok...let me get my shit and we can head over there." He said walking back to his bedroom with Judy. Rick stopped him, "What about Judy?"

"Oh right." Daryl said looking down at her, to which she laughed and grabbed his face. Whitney stepped out of his room, "I'll look after her." Carl laughed and Rick nudged him again, harder this time. Rick went to take Judy to which she whined, "I'm sorry…we…we have probably just barged in…" Rick was awkward and it made Whitney smile and Daryl looked at the ground awkwardly as well. "No, it's not a problem. We needed to get up anyway. I can look after her, it's totally fine." Rick smiled and nodded and looked to Daryl for approval. He smiled and said, "You heard her." Daryl took Judy and handed her over to Whitney. Rick smiled and said, "Are you sure it's ok?"

"Yes." Whitney said holding Judy, "We're basically family now, right?" Rick nodded and thought, she was right. They all stood there for a quiet minute, and Daryl said, "You guys can just wait outside? I gotta get ready real quick." Rick nodded and quickly left, dragging Carl behind him. Daryl shook his head, turning to Whitney, "Sorry bout that."

"Don't have to be sorry." Whitney said adjusting Judy on her hip, "Come here." He smiled and went to her and they kissed sweetly as Judy giggled, playing with Whitney's hair.


	32. Chapter 32

Eve had just finished taking a shower and getting herself together. The house was so quiet it was kind of eerie. She figured Rick had taken to Judy over to Carol's, but she didn't know where Whitney could be. She tucked her machete into her belt and looked in the mirror. Ever since that morning, she had had a bad feeling. She didn't know if it was the nightmare she had earlier, or what, but she felt uneasy. She was just about to walk out the front door when she heard the back door open and shut. She stopped and said, "Rick?" There was no answer. She took a few steps closer to the kitchen, "Whitney? Carl?" Still no answer. She saw a figure move through the kitchen and she turned and started to run towards the front door, not knowing what she was running from but knew she needed to run. She felt arms go around her and push her to the ground, covering her mouth. She kicked and head butted whoever it was and they screamed, it was a man's scream. She got some ground and started to run again. She felt a fist come down on the back of her head and she fell down. The man got on top of her and turned her around, cursing her. "Shut up the fuck up!" He seethed as she realized it was Spencer. Her eyes widened and she screamed as he threw his hand over her mouth and clamped down. "SHUT. UP. Or I'll slice you in two right now." Eve could feel tears coming out of her eyes, and now saw that he had her machete in his hand and put it up to her throat, "Doesn't feel too good to be on the other side now does it?" Eve whimpered and he said, "I know all about what you and your little friend are doing." Eve looked at him and shook her head and he said, "Don't play stupid with me, I know he's hiding that wolf!" Eve's eyes said it all. He pushed into her harder, "Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Eve shook her head and pleaded with him with her eyes to let her speak. He just snickered, "I'm going to take care of him and that piece of shit that killed our people…but first, I'm going to have a little fun with you." Eve kicked her legs again and Spencer restrained her even tighter, "Rick and your whole group are going to learn the hard way…trying to come in here and take over everything we have worked so hard for. You all destroyed us!" Spencer screamed at her. Eve shook her head again, still pleading with her eyes. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this. "This is how we're going to start." Spencer seethed as he reached down and ripped her shirt, exposing her bra and bare stomach. She screamed and kicked but he was on top of her and it was no use, he was too heavy. She immediately thought about the baby and tried to scream through his hand, still clamped over her mouth, "Please don't!"

"Shut up, Eve, or this is going to be so much harder." Spencer seethed again and she felt his hands over her breasts and stomach, groping and squeezing. She cried and kicked and he said again, "I'm telling you one more time, shut up." Eve went silent and cried harder. She thought she might be hyperventilating because she could hardly breathe. She knew was he was about to do, and she tried to go somewhere else in her head. This had almost happened to her once before, but she got out of it. She didn't think she was going to get out of it this time. Spencer ripped her bra off, making her scream into his hand, he clamped down harder and she could feel his bare hands touching her, grabbing her, and she cried harder. She heard Spencer groan, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She prayed that someone would walk in, please anyone walk in, but she knew they were all at the fence, Spencer had planned this well. She then felt him lift her hips and pulled her jeans off, not even trying to unbutton them or unzip them. He was throwing her body around like a rag doll. She realized then that she was completely naked, besides her underwear. She felt him adjust himself and heard his zipper unzipping. She cried harder and started to fight and he reared back and punched her in the face. She felt blood running down her nose and she was dazed. She tried to shake it off and then she felt his hands dive into her panties, ripping them off. His fingers dove inside her, making her cry out in pain. She felt his hard on against her thigh and something came over her. She reared back with all of her might and head butted him as hard as she could. He flew off of her, groaning and screaming. She somehow got up and got a hold of her machete. She immediately got on top of him and dove her machete into his chest while she screamed. She kept stabbing him and screaming as blood went all over her and into her hair and face and all over the hallway floor.

Carol walked into the unfinished house that she knew Morgan was keeping the wolf that had attacked them all. She had been watching and she knew that whatever Eve had said or done, nothing had changed. She knew Morgan was in there currently and she also knew that he had taken Denise with him. She was going to fix this once and for all. She turned the corner and saw the wolf, with Denise, and he was holding a knife to her throat. Morgan had his hands out, in a pleading manner saying something to this man to get him to release her. Carol shook her head and drew her gun, "Let her go." Carol said as she pointed the gun directly at this man. The wolf smiled a slimy smile and said, "Look who's come to join the party." Morgan whipped around and looked at Carol, "No Carol, don't shoot, please."

"You're out of your mind Morgan." Carol said, "This ends now…"

"No Carol it doesn't have to be like this," Morgan pleaded, "I can't let you kill him." Carol shook her head, "Well, then I'll have to kill you." Morgan's eyes were shocked and wolf started to move with Denise still in his grasp to get out. Carol cocked her gun and Morgan went for her. The wolf saw the opportunity and took off out the door, with Denise in tow. Carol screamed as she and Morgan fought over the gun. Carol tried to lift it up to shoot him but Morgan knocked her head against the wall. She dropped the gun and as Morgan went to get it, she threw his head against the wall. They were both so dazed they sank back and landed on the ground, both unconscious.

Whitney had been with Judy for a few hours when she thought about going to check on Eve. It wasn't like her cousin to not come over already to check on her and Judy. She knew she probably thought that Carol was with Judy, so she knew she would come to Daryl and Carol's house. She was getting worried and she looked at Judy, "You wanna go check on Mommy?" Judy clapped and screamed, "Mama!" Whitney laughed and picked her up as she started making her way to the door. As soon as she was about to open it, she saw at least four roamers coming onto the porch. She screamed and slammed the door, locking it. Her heart was beating out of her chest, why were they beyond the fence? Judy started to cry and Whitney put her down and said, "It's ok Judy, just wait here!" She ran and pushed all of the stuff off a dresser that was sitting in the hallway and pushed it with all of her might to block the door that the roamers were currently trying to break down. She had to think fast. She picked Judy up and ran to Daryl's room, shutting the door and locking it. Judy was still crying and Whitney knew it was attracting them. She tried held her closer and whispered, "Everything is going to be ok, just please be quiet." Judy seemed to calm down and little, long enough for Whitney to get a view of the street from Daryl's window. She gasped, "Oh dear God." Roamers were flooding the streets in droves. They were coming fast. She looked around Daryl's room frantically for a weapon. She saw a gun sitting on his dresser and immediately grabbed it and put it in her belt. Judy was getting scared again and Whitney knew if she cried, those roamers were about to head for the house, specifically these windows. She frantically looked around and held Judy close as she tried to decided what the hell she was going to do. She heard the front door bust open and immediately thought, "We're dead." She held Judy closer, wishing they would just give up and go away but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She heard the door of the room being pushed and banged and knew it was only a matter of seconds. She readied her gun, it's all she had left. She saw the door giving way and Judy started to cry again. Whitney cocked her gun and was just about to shoot when she saw Daryl break through the door and run to her. She gasped and ran to him, flinging her arms around him and holding him tight. Judy was still crying and Daryl kissed Whitney quickly and said, "We have to go now!" Whitney nodded her head and grabbed his hand as they made their way out to the hallway, trying to get out. All of those walkers that were alive previously were laying on the ground, a single arrow sticking out of each of their heads. They went to the front door, but the walkers were coming and they wouldn't be able to make it. Daryl turned quickly, "We gotta go through the garage now, where's Eve?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen her!" Whitney said as Daryl closed the door to the garage. Whitney realized the shit show they were in and held Judy closer, "Daryl, we gotta find her!" Daryl nodded and said, "We will, but first we have to get out of here. Rick and them are next door, the wall fell, we're getting overrun." Whitney nodded and went into action and grabbed her gun again, "Ok."

"I'm going to open the door, you run, I will cover you." Daryl said as he looked into her eyes, "Don't even look back you hear me you just run, got it?" Whitney felt tears coming and Judy was crying softly, "What about you?" Daryl put his hands to her face, "I'll be right behind you, just run and get next door." Whitney nodded and Daryl kissed her again, "It's gonna be ok." Whitney nodded again and he looked at her to give the ready as he reached and flung the garage door open. He said, "Run now!" Whitney took off, and luckily there were not many roamers in her way. She heard Daryl taking some of them out, but then heard his footsteps behind her and knew that he was following her. She didn't even blink, she just held Judy as close as possible and ran.


	33. Chapter 33

_Ish is about to get real. I hope you are following along and waiting on bated breath. Please like and review I could really use it! Thanks again for reading!_

Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Deanna had made it to Jessie's house, right next door to Daryl and Carol's house. Rick paced around frantically as they all waited for Daryl to show up with Whitney, Eve and Judy. He had wanted to do it but Daryl insisted and they needed Rick there. They had successfully barricaded themselves in Jessie's house, but they didn't know how much longer they had; and Deanna had been bitten. She was lying on the sofa as Michonne tried to tend to her but they all knew what was going to happen. Carl stopped Rick and said, "Dad, you have to calm down, Daryl will bring them here, it's going to be ok." Rick seethed to himself, why was this always happening? Why was Eve always being taken away from him? And now Judy too? On top of his other child that Eve was carrying. He could feel himself losing his grip and Carl stopped him again, "Dad you have to calm down!" Jessie was over in a corner with her two kids, watching in horror. Her youngest, Sam was huddled into her. Rick looked at them and then looked at Michonne and Carl, and Deanna who was slowly slipping away. He nodded to Carl and said, "I'll give him 5 minutes, then I'm going to get them myself." Carl nodded and they heard the front door getting knocked over. They immediately went into action and took off upstairs, Rick helping Michonne with Deanna. They were running out of options and Rick was about to lose his mind. They flew into a room and slammed the door shut and barricaded it. Carl looked at his dad, realizing what was happening, "Dad, we can't stay here." Rick nodded, Carl was right. They couldn't stay there or they would die, the walkers were going to swarm the house in no time and they would be trapped. Rick went into action, "Michonne, we need to get downstairs and kill those walkers, cut them open and do what we have to do to get us out of here." Michonne stood up as Deanna slumped down. Jessie looked horrified, "What?"

"We have to smell like them to get past them." Rick said seriously, "It's the only way." Jessie grabbed her two kids and Rick looked to Carl, "I will call for you to come down, listen for me." Carl nodded as Deanna said, "Leave me Rick." Rick looked at her and pushed his sweaty curls out of his eyes and bent down to get on her level. Deanna looked at him, "It's over. Just leave me. Get everyone else out." Rick nodded and grabbed her hand as they both silently thanked each other. Michonne looked at Deanna and her at Michonne. Deanna smiled a weak smile, "Go save the others, do what you do. Now go." Rick went, Michonne nodded and squeezed Deanna's hand before she went. Rick and Michonne made it down the stair way, and were met with at least a dozen walkers. Rick yelled and started killing as many of them as possible. Michonne sliced as many as possible too until they had just enough time to start cutting them. Rick yelled, "Carl now!" Carl came down with Jessie and the others and Rick started handing them entrails and body parts of the walkers. "Put as much as you can all over you, quickly!" They all started smearing guts and blood all over themselves as quickly as possible. Rick continued and said, "Hurry we have to go now!" They all picked up the pace and Rick said, "We're going now, do not say a word, just follow me and hold onto each other." They all nodded and Sam said, "Mom…"

"Sam just follow me. It's going to be ok." Jessie said to her son. He held firm to her hand as Rick opened the door of the house slowly. He stepped out onto the porch, with the other following behind. The walkers were all around them, there were tons of them. Rick took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand; his mind was racing and all he could think about was Eve and Judy. He had to get it together and find them and the only way he was going to do that was to get through this. The sun was starting to go down and it was about to get dark. They had to get through the herd and find where the others were, or find shelter. Rick looked all around trying to look for anyone, but especially looking for Eve. They started making their way through the herd and Rick could see through the darkness that others must be gathered in the infirmary, they were trying to get his attention. Rick was hopeful and they were almost there, when he heard screams. He turned and saw a walker tearing into Sam as Jessie held onto him. Rick was stuck in his spot, and Michonne and Carl didn't know what to do either. Jessie screamed and tried to fight the walker off, but the walker then went after Jessie next, ripping her throat. Her older son, screamed and the walkers started coming towards them. Rick's eyes widened in terror as Jessie's son brought a gun up and pointed it at Rick, "This is all your fault!" Rick braced himself for a blow when he heard the gun go off and he wasn't hit. Michonne's sword went directly through the boy and he fell to the floor, walkers over taking him. Rick heard a small voice, a voice that he knew all too well, "Rick…" Rick turned and gasped and he saw the horror that just happened. It was Eve, she was partially dressed, and covered in blood. Most of the blood was dried, but she had a fresh wound, that was gushing blood, in her abdomen. She looked down at her wound and back to Rick and choked on blood that came out of her mouth and fell down her chin. The bullet that was meant for him had hit her. Rick gasped in horror and went to her as she hit the ground. "No Eve! No, you stay awake!" Rick pleaded with tears falling out of his eyes and onto her as he picked her up in his arms. Carl and Michonne followed him as he made his way to the others in the infirmary, killing walkers in their wake. Eve was pale as a ghost and her eyes were rolling back in her head. He brought her to his face and said, "Hold on, Eve, please hold on!" They burst through the front door and the others quickly barricaded it behind them. Rick laid Eve down on a gurney and Denise, who looked rather shaken up and wounded herself looked at what was in front of her. She saw Rick's face and immediately went to work. Rick was crying and holding Eve's face and hands trying to get her to come to. Denise said shakily but forcibly, "Rick, I need you to back up I have to work fast if she is going to live!" Rick shook his head and cried as he felt hands go around his shoulders and pull him back. He felt like the whole world was ending, again. This was real. Eve was fatally wounded. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't speak. He soon realized it was Daryl pulling him back. He looked at his friend and saw Whitney standing beside him with Judy in her arms. Rick started to sob and took Judy in his arms. Judy started to cry and Rick held her closer. Carl's arms went around his dad and he was sobbing too. Rick pulled his children into him. Whitney grabbed onto Daryl and sobbed into his chest. Daryl wiped his own eyes. Morgan was in the corner, wounded as well with tears dripping down his face and Carol stared on silently as her own tears gathered. Michonne slammed her hand against the wall of the room in anger and broke down, falling to the floor. Daryl knew they couldn't stay like this for long, the rest of the walkers were going to get in eventually. He looked around and grabbed his crossbow, making Whitney look confused, "I'm going to kill those bastards." Rick heard him kissed Judy and Carl, grabbed an axe that was leaning against the wall, probably from someone else, and started heading to the door. Daryl quickly followed behind, as Michonne grabbed her katana and followed too. Morgan did the same, with Carol behind him. Whitney grabbed her gun and followed as well. One by one the entire group of people went out into the walker infested Alexandria.


End file.
